A Song for Severus ~ (Not Update, but Edit)

Chapter 5 ~ The Truth of the Matter

Bellatrix entered her private chambers looking thoughtful. Voltaire was developing nicely, but Volaria…she was too soft, too much like her mother.

The gray-eyed witch sat down on her bed, smirking. So, the young Lord was already thinking of sororicide. Good. Good. It meant he was thinking of himself, for himself. Her years of teaching were paying off. Voltaire might even eclipse his father in his cruelty.

His father.

Bellatrix’s lip curled as she thought of how successfully she had duped Voldemort. She had been his number one consort, but Bella was not satisfied with such a place. She wanted to rule beside the Dark Lord as his queen.

But Voldemort was too selfish, too paranoid to share his throne. He didn’t even want children for fear they would grow up to overthrow him. He intended on living forever, so did not want or need heirs. He never worried about Bella. She was born with a closed womb, something she never forgave the gods for. This added to her cruelty, and she took great pleasure in tormenting and mutilating pregnant witches and muggles, often slicing them open, removing the fetus and crushing it before the mother’s eyes underfoot. Bella was a cruel, sick soul…which endeared her to Voldemort even more.

Yet, she was ambitious, and knew that the forces of good just might overthrow the paranoid despot, and so she concocted a plan. Voldemort enjoyed threesomes and often sent Bella to find partners for their trysts, trusting her to insure whoever she brought would not conceive. He thought he was safe in this, seeing how Bella envied women who could bear children. She would never allow any woman to be impregnated by him. Or so Voldemort thought.

When Bella first conceived of this plan, she went out to find a secluded place, somewhere she could protect her secret. She had an underground enclave built in a secret location, most of the workmen house elves she forced into service. It took five years for it to be completed and was carefully warded and rendered unplottable by a young, talented, and unfortunately for him, gullible Spells Master, who Bella first seduced, then convinced she was building a “safe house” for muggle-borns in the event that the Dark Lord’s forces overran the wizarding world. So the young wizard felt compelled to keep her secret and use all his skill and creativity to create a hold that was impossible to discern or penetrate without the proper spells. In fact, there were some very nasty surprises for anyone who did manage to find the hold and tried to force their way in.

Of course, when the young wizard completed his work, Bella killed him. She slit his throat while fucking him cowgirl style, orgasming as he gurgled, his blue eyes wide with shock and blood pouring from the deep wound. He stayed erect until the bitter end.

The hold was quite large and ingeniously constructed so fresh air could enter through fissures and circulate throughout. It had indoor plumbing and running water. It also had its own infirmary, library, labs, classrooms, a large snake pit where King Cobras were bred and large open spaces where games or other events could be held. Of course it had a large kitchen and several living areas, bedrooms and the like. It also had a Room of Requirement, which required Bella to hire and kill several skilled craftswizards, using the same story she used on the young Spellmaster. People were so fucking gullible.

The enclave was completely run by house elves, but Bella acquired, or kidnapped rather, a young healer fresh out of university named Jordan, and kept him chained by one leg in a small room until his services were required. Sometimes she fucked the brown-eyed, brown-haired wizard, but it was always a non-consensual situation, the poor healer doing so under duress.

“I got you, didn’t I?” Bella would say to him, “What makes you think I can’t get a replacement should you die? Now lie down and cooperate.”

To her credit however, Bella kept Jordan supplied with books, magazines, parchment, ink, quills and the like so his brain wouldn’t atrophy, and twice a week either she or a properly conditioned house elf took him to the main arena and let him exercise. The elves knew they were not to serve Jordan beyond this, though they often took him extra food when they could.

When Bella was satisfied with the premises, she then enacted the next part of her plan, and brought Voldemort a witch who she had cast a fertility spell on. The witch was scared to death, which delighted Voldemort, and the despot fucked her far into the night, Bella watching more than she participated as the witch screamed and begged for mercy. The woman was thoroughly traumatized, and it was easy to bring her to the enclave and situate her there. As Bella hoped, the witch, whose name was Patricia, had indeed conceived, and was horrified to find out that if the Dark Lord discovered she was pregnant he would kill both her and the child without hesitation.

Bella played the Protectress, taking care of Patricia’s every need until she delivered Voltaire with the healer’s assistance. The poor wizard had just cut the umbilical cord and announced it was a boy, when the room was filled with the dread green light of the Killing curse. Patricia hadn’t even had a chance to lay eyes on her child.

Bella studied the baby. He was dark-haired like Voldemort had once been.

“I am his mother now,” she told the wide-eyed healer. “Take him and care for him. The elves will help you.”

Jordan had no idea who the father of the child was, but he did as Bellatrix said.

Voltaire became quite ill with a magical fever and seemed on the brink of death. He recovered, but not wanting to take any chances, Bella brought another fertile witch to Voldemort, little more than a child really, and the despot was once again delighted. Bella picked the best witches. He brutalized the young witch, fucking her unmercifully as Bella watched. Once again, Bella took the young witch in, nurtured her throughout her pregnancy, then killed her the same way she did Patricia…the moment the cord was cut. Bella was a bit disappointed Volaria was a girl child, but there could be a Dark Lady as well as a Dark Lord, and she needed a back-up child in case anything happened to Voltaire.

When Voltaire turned eighteen months, Bella took him from Jordan and put him in her own rooms. She began to teach him a disregard for life immediately…showing him first how to kill small animals, nifflers in cages by stabbing them with a long pointed metal dowel.

“See the blood, Voltaire. Make lots and lots of blood my sweet,” she’d croon, rewarding him with hugs and kisses for his brutal actions. When it came time to educate Voltaire, he was home schooled by the witch, who utilized her memories of Hogwarts in pensieves as a guide. Of course, there were no muggle studies. She also made sure that Voltaire knew he was royalty and better than anyone else and to hate muggles and muggle-borns. But she also taught him to fear his father and never seek him out.

“Your father knows you will be greater than he ever was, and so will kill you to keep his throne, but that throne belongs to you, Voltaire. The throne and all the power that goes with it. I will help you when the time comes, and I will help you rule. I will be your Queen and your Protector,” she told him.

Bella also interacted with Volaria, though she immediately found out the witch did not have the proper temperament to be a despot. Volaria cried when Bella forced her to kill animals. The child abhorred violence. But Bella found out early on that Volaria could do wandless magic when in a fit of temper she threw her palm toward the niffler cage and dashed it against the wall, killing all the animals anyway. She was only five at the time.

“Such power,” Bella breathed.

She continued to work with the witch, but found her rebellious. Rather than punish Volaria herself, she allowed Voltaire to torment her psychologically, calling her weak, pathetic and stupid at every opportunity, especially when she hedged at doing something cruel…which usually made her do it, just to prove him wrong and show him she was as strong as he was.

When it was time for the Final Battle, Bellatrix did not participate and instead hid in the secret fortress…so when the Death Eaters were rounded up…she was not among them. Word had it that she had been killed, her body completely destroyed and that erroneous information suited Bellatrix just fine. She remained in hiding, working on Voltaire, showing him pensieves of his father’s brutal acts and asking him if he thought he could do better. Voltaire always assured her he could.

Not all the Death Eaters were sent to Azkaban. Some swore they didn’t participate in the battle and if they weren’t caught there, very little could be done. The better known criminal Death Eaters such as Peter Pettigrew hid themselves, having prepared for the eventuality that Voldemort might fall, forming an underground network of cells supported by the free Death Eaters. Severus might have been used to round up this group of criminals, but he wasn’t…because of Bellatrix. Several years ago, Bellatrix had cornered him at a revel and took him aside.

“Severus, I have information that proves you are a spy for the Order,” she said to the wizard as cries and screams of the tortured and dying reverberated all around them, covering their conversation.

Severus leveled his dark eyes on her soberly and said, “Those rumors have circulated for ages, Bella. The Dark Lord knows I am his most loyal servant.”

”This is not rumor, Severus…but fact. Information I extracted from an Order member as I hacked his limbs off one by one. He swore an oath that all he said was true before I clove his head from his limbless body,” she hissed. “He would not have been able to do that if it wasn’t so.”

The truth was Bella had no such information, just a suspicion that she decided to present as truth.

“All I need do is give the Dark Lord a pensieve of the events, and you are a dead man,” she said to the wizard. “But, if you are willing to grant me a service, I will take an oath never to reveal this truth to him. Ever.”

Severus’ eyes washed over Bella. The witch could see death in them.

“Don’t try it, Severus. If you kill me, the Dark Lord will still kill you. I am his favorite. Your position will not still his hand. You have not been providing the best of information lately,” she said warningly.

Severus’ face contorted.

“What kind of service, witch?” he asked her.

“I need the formula for Voldemort’s elixir, but need it adapted to different stages of strength so it can be fed diluted to a child, its strength increased as the child draws closer to adulthood,” she whispered to the wizard.

“A child! The elixir would kill a child,” Severus said, frowning at her.

“Diluted! With instructions on how to increase its strength in increments,” Bellatrix hissed at him, "Something a tolerance could be built up for. Anyway, if the child dies, that has nothing to do with you. I need that formula Severus. If you do not give it to me, I will inform Voldemort of your treachery right now. Give me an oath you will deliver the formula and the instructions how it is brewed. Now!”

Severus had no idea what twisted ends Bellatrix was working toward, but he gave her his oath, received hers in turn and informed Albus of her extortion as soon as he could. The Headmaster looked quite worried.

“We must find out what Bellatrix is about, Severus. Now you have two jobs…to keep me apprised of Voldemort’s plans and to find out what Bellatrix LeStrange is up to…before the Final Battle occurs,” he instructed Severus.

But that was easier said than done. Bella was very careful. Once, Severus managed to place a tracking spell on her, but when she disapparated, her signature showed up in over one hundred places in different parts of the world simultaneously, then faded out immediately. She had some kind of splaying spell on her person and was impossible to track. The dead Spellmaster had created it for her, so she would be able to hide her charges and not be traced. Yet she could still feel Voldemort’s summons, and never failed to appear when he called for her. Since the Dark Lord believed Bella was truly the Death Eater most dedicated to him, never once did he consider she would betray him, which only goes to prove that men…even despots…can be great fools when it comes to women.

If Voldemort hadn’t died, Bella would have set Voltaire on him to fight for the throne. Bella knew many secrets about his father and would have educated the young wizard thoroughly on the Dark Lord’s weaknesses. The elixir would afford him great protection. But, Voldemort had been killed and the throne left vacant, ripe for the pickings.

With Voldemort’s death, the wizarding world believed the worst was over…but neither Albus nor Severus believed Bellatrix was dead, and that she was up to something horrible. If they removed all the Death Eaters, she might not surface. It was a terrible choice, since the Death Eaters continued to kidnap, torture and kill muggles and muggle-borns, though they were much lower key. Those taken were never found again. Gone were the days of leaving bodies about as a warning to others. These Death Eaters killed quietly, hatefully and without the need for acknowledgement which made them even more dangerous than when under Voldemort.

Both Albus and Severus believed Bellatrix was grooming another despot, and she had to be found and stopped before the child was old enough to rise to power. Judging by when Bella approached Severus, if the child was alive then, he or she would between fifteen and seventeen years old…almost an adult. They had no idea there were two children.

Draco Malfoy had turned to Albus in his sixth year and told him he did not want to serve Voldemort, but was going to be forced into his service. Albus made him the same offer he made Professor Snape years ago, to be a spy for the Order and help bring the Dark Lord down. Draco agreed and was given to Severus to train in the ways of deception, beginning with Occlumency, which was most important. Draco showed a great aptitude for it, much better than Harry, but then again, his life and the life of the Potions Master depended on his abilities, and this was enough impetus to make him an expert at hiding his thoughts and memories in a very short while.

Teaching Draco to hide his emotions was another story. Severus brought him to the Room of Requirement and forced him to relive his own amplified memories of revel after revel until he was able to watch the most depraved and horrible acts without any outward reaction. At first, Draco threw up a lot. A bucket had to be placed near him, and Severus had to restrain him in a chair to keep him from bolting from the room as he watched the mutilation and murder of men, women and children, witches, wizards, muggles, muggle-borns and out of favor purebloods. Voldemort didn’t care who he killed.

There were whispers around Hogwarts that Draco was dying, the young wizard was always so pale and weak looking those early days. But he soon grew stoic. He had to. At his first revel, he did his father proud, though he didn’t participate. He told his father he wasn’t ready to perform sexually in front of people, and Lucius understood. The ability had to be learned. But he was very proud Draco didn’t pale or throw up at the carnage…very few new Death Eaters walked away from a revel unaffected. The boy was stronger than he ever dreamed, and he boasted about him to anyone who would listen. Even the Dark Lord was impressed.

“You are a strong one, Draco,” the Dark Lord lisped at him. “You will be most valuable in my ranks. You have the makings of a raider.”

A raider was a Death Eater that invaded homes and slaughtered families. Luckily, when Draco was inducted into the raider ranks, he was able to warn Albus of the targets and they were protected in one way or another. The ways always differed, so no suspicion was cast on Draco. He saved many lives.

Because of Bellatrix, when the time for the Final Battle came, both Draco and Severus did not participate. In Draco’s case, his father provided him the cover. If they both died, there would be no heir and their estate would die. So Lucius made Draco stay at the Manor to make sure the bloodline would continue. His mother Narcissa fought by his father’s side until they both were overcome and captured. Severus simply told the others when he saw the battle turning, he escaped before he was captured, and since no one could prove he was involved, he was not arrested.

Having Voldemort’s mark alone was not enough to have a person sent to Azkaban. Due process required that it had to be proven they had broken the law, and veritaserum was not allowed to be used in interrogation or the courtroom since it was discovered false information could be placed in a witch’s or wizard’s mind through an altered form of Legilimency. Veritaserum-induced confessions became worthless in the eyes of the law. There had to be witnesses who saw them unmasked, and when most Death Eaters did their dirt, they kept their masks on and left no witnesses if they could help it.

Shortly after Voldemort’s death, there were rumors that Bellatrix had shown up at various Death Eater gatherings, telling others that the Dark Lord was not dead would return. Severus and Draco had yet to find her at a meeting…but whenever they got wind of one, or a revel, they were required to go, watch and mingle. This meant spending time in the homes of their dark comrades for days and weeks, the revels moving like parties from home to home. Most of the time they were forced to witness continued atrocities against the innocent, unable to do anything that might cast suspicion on them besides mercifully killing the victims. What made this worse was that both Draco and Severus had hoped at least this aspect of the Dark Lord’s influence had ended, and it hadn’t. The fact that it continued as they stood idly by wore on their very souls. They felt less than human when they returned to their regular lives, and sought the solace of their witches at the first opportunity, letting their love soothe and heal them for the time being…before they were forced to go back again.

Severus lay spooned around Hermione in her four-poster bed, his chin resting on top of her head, the wizard sleeping peacefully for the first time in a month. He had managed to get back to her as he promised and was thankful for that. Hermione’s presence seemed to drive away the nightmares that plagued him when he was alone, giving him the illusion of peace that he so desperately needed in order to continue.

In the Manor also, Draco slept with one arm flung possessively over Malina, his rest easy and undisturbed. She too drove away his demons. She was his shield against the things hidden and railing in the dark.

But the two wizards were in danger of losing what they held most dear if they didn’t find out where Bella was hiding soon. Both Severus and Draco shifted in their sleep at the same moment, pulling their witches closer, unwilling to let them go.

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A/N: All right. I think I’ve covered the basic history and conflict, why Death Eaters are still around, what Severus and Draco are up to, and why they are so desperate for their women when they return. Bellatrix LeStrange is absolutely horrible in this story. She deserves to die a very nasty death. Brrrrr. Thanks for reading.