Saving your life

“Severus,” Voldemort hissed, as soon as he reached the open door to his study.

“Master,” Severus replied, with a respectful bow.

“I believe I gave you two hours to return, and it has been over three.”

“I know, my Lord, but the mission took longer than expected.”

“I certainly do hope you succeeded; you know what will happen otherwise,” he said, menacingly.

“I did, Master,” Severus said, waving his wand and floating an unconscious Draco into the room.

“Excellent; now I shall know the truth,” Voldemort said, his eyes flashing with glee. “Wormtail, leave us,” he hissed, and only then did Severus notice the wizard was in the room with them.

He was lying on the floor by the fire, his arm still bleeding, although not as profusely as before, and the burns Severus had noticed before looked much worse now. By the look of him, he was much more hurt than it seemed at first sight.

“Y-Yes, Master,” Wormtail replied in a weak, trembling tone as he struggled to sit up, but collapsed on his back again before he could steady himself.

“I said leave,” Voldemort said angrily, waving his hand at the wizard and sending him flying to the door, his body hitting the wall as he reached the hallway. “Severus,” he said, when he noticed his eyes were still on the small wizard.

“Yes, my Lord?” he replied, turning to Voldemort.

“Close the door,” he said, glancing at Wormtail’s unconscious, battered body.

“Yes, Master,” he repeated, hesitating for a second, wondering if perhaps he should heal Wormtail, and then deciding against it.

As soon as the door was closed again, Voldemort turned his back on Severus, facing the wall, and with a wave of his hand all the furniture on the far end of the room vanished, leaving the wall bare, and the floor empty.

“Bring him closer,” he hissed, not turning to him, and Severus did as told, levitating Draco before him and walking to where Voldemort stood.

With yet another flick of his hand, Voldemort moved Draco in front of him and lifted him almost to the ceiling.

“Wake him,” he hissed, and as soon as Draco opened his eyes Voldemort let him fall.

Severus could see the look of fear mix with that of pain on Draco’s face, but there was nothing he could do for him. Whatever Voldemort decided to do, he could only follow his lead and hope he would be able to save the boy’s life in the end.

Convincing Draco to go to Voldemort’s headquarters with him hadn’t been easy. Although Severus had told him he would try to protect him, they both knew his chances of surviving were slim at best. He could only hope the boy was strong, that he would resist long enough; he was about to suffer more than he ever had.

“You,” Voldemort said in a voice so low and menacing it made Draco shiver in fear. “You contacted the Order of the Phoenix.”

Draco didn’t answer. Instead, he tried to stand, although by what Severus could see, he had hurt one of his legs when he had fallen.

“Speak!” Voldemort yelled, throwing Draco against the wall with a wave of his hand, but still the boy said nothing. “You have betrayed your Master; you have betrayed everything your family believed in. You have allied yourself with filthy Mudbloods, half-breeds, and blood traitors. You have helped those disgusting Muggle-lovers. You are a shame to your blood, to the Malfoy name. You are a shame to the Wizarding world.”

Draco stood up again. There wasn’t any defiance in his expression, buy it was still obvious in the way he stood. He didn’t meet Voldemort’s gaze, nor did he meet Severus’, but he held his head high all the same.

“Speak!” Voldemort yelled again. “Defend yourself against the accusations or admit your betrayal.”

Still, the boy didn’t say a word.

“Crucio!” Voldemort said angrily, glee crossing his features again as he saw Draco fall to the floor, screaming in pain as his body writhed and shook.

“Are you a spy for the Order of the Phoenix?” Voldemort asked in a calm tone as soon as he lifted the curse.

Draco’s breath was ragged, his arms still shaking as he slowly stood up again. Meeting Voldemort’s gaze this time, he pressed his lips together, not emitting a single sound.

“I want to know the truth, boy, and I want to hear it from you. Did you help the Order take those objects from me?”

Severus could see the fear in Draco’s eyes, and yet he did not reply.

“Legilimens!” Voldemort yelled, the power of the spell making Draco fall on his knees, although the eye contact was never broken.

“Let me see it!” Voldemort yelled frustrated after a moment, as he stepped closer.

Severus could see the deep frown on Draco’s brow; the effort obvious as he tried to close his mind to Voldemort’s prodding. Voldemort took another step towards him, waving his hand in Draco’s direction so that he was lifted until their eyes were levelled. The power was again palpable in the air, but still Voldemort couldn’t break into his mind.

“Severus,” he said after a moment, releasing Draco and letting him fall again.

“Yes, Master,” he said instantly, walking to him.

Instead of replying, Voldemort waved his hand towards the boy, his meaning clear to Severus without a need for words.

“Crucio,” Severus said, his wand aimed at Draco, who started screaming once more. Voldemort wanted him to break the boy, to hurt him enough so that he could no longer keep him from prodding his mind.

After a few moments, Severus lifted the curse, watching Draco gasp for breath. Without giving him time to recover, he waved his wand again, sending him flying up and backwards until his back hit the wall, and then pinned him to it.

“Tell the truth, Draco. Admit what you have done, and you will die quickly,” he said, his tone low and cold.

As before Draco remained silent, a hateful look on his face as he watched Severus. He didn’t want to do it, but he didn’t have another choice. Stepping closer to him, he fisted the boy’s hair and yanked his head to the side.

“You brought this on to yourself,” he hissed loudly, and with another flick of his wand Draco stated screaming again.

“That is not good enough,” Voldemort said from behind him after a few moments, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the screams. “Do not hold back, Severus. You can do better than that.”

“Yes, Master,” he replied, using the same curse Voldemort had used on him only hours before to slash Draco’s flesh open, the blood soon pooling on the floor beneath him.

“Are you ready to speak now?” he asked a moment later. “We know the truth, Draco. We know what you did. There is no reason to hide it. Tell the Dark Lord what he wants to hear, and your suffering will stop.”

With visible effort, Draco raised his head, a determined look on his face as he kept silent, like he had since arriving.

“You are being a fool,” Severus said. Another flick of his wand; another slash on the boy’s skin. “Who do you think you are protecting?”

When he didn’t reply, Severus took a step back, waving his wand once more. A small, green flame appeared before him, floating mere millimetres away from Draco’s chest but not touching him.

“Did you think you wouldn’t be discovered? Did you think we wouldn’t know?” the flame moved forward and Draco screamed as it made contact with his robes, but they didn’t catch fire. The flame retained its shape and size even when it burned through the clothes and touched his skin. After a few seconds, Severus moved it away again.

“You cannot keep secrets from the Dark Lord, you foolish child.”

Severus gave Draco a few moments, but he said nothing.

“Do not fool yourself; you will break. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, it will happen. Make things easier for yourself, tell the Dark Lord what he wishes to know, and it will be over.”

Silence.

“Crucio!” he yelled again after a moment, and watched Draco’s body convulse. When he lifted the curse, the boy’s eyes closed and his body went limp.

“I think he is ready, Master,” Severus said, turning towards Voldemort, who was comfortably sitting in a large armchair behind him.

“Very well,” he replied, standing in one smooth motion and walking to Severus’ side.

“Wake him.”

“Rennervate,” he said, and at the same time Voldemort hissed, “Legilimens!”

Draco’s gaze locked with Voldemort’s, and Severus instantly felt him break through the boy’s mental barrier.

“Let me see it, show me what you have done,” Voldemort hissed, taking a step closer to Draco.

Severus’ gaze was locked on Draco, watching his eyes glaze over.

“How?” Voldemort muttered after a moment, and then turned to Severus, rage clear in his voice. “The witch?”

“Master?” Severus said, pretending not to understand what he was saying.

“The boy gained access to the Order through your witch, Severus. How could that happen?”

“I have no idea, Master. Perhaps it happened after I modified her memories?”

Instead of replying, Voldemort turned back to Draco, searching his mind for the answer.

“Well, it seems that little Mudblood has a thing for dark wizards. How could you not have known he had contacted her?” Voldemort asked, looking at him once more.

“I had to stay away from her, Master. I didn’t want to risk her somehow remembering or suspecting she had been working for me, or I would have been forced to kill her.”

“Which I had asked you to do from the beginning.”

“Yes, Master, but that would have alerted the rest of the Order, and it would have endangered my position as a spy.”

“You seem to worry a lot about not being discovered, given how much your work has been lacking as of late, but now is not the time to discuss that.”

Turning to Draco again, Voldemort moved his hand, lifting the boy up in the air once more, and then moving him closer.

“How did you know about the objects?” he hissed.

Another minute passed in silence, Draco’s skin paling as the blood kept dripping to the floor although he made no sound of pain. His face clearly showed the effort he was putting in fighting Voldemort’s invasion, even as his eyes remained glazed, lost.

“Let me see it!” Voldemort hissed again, Draco’s body shaking in response to his Master’s rage.

“No, there’s no way they could have known, you’re lying!” he yelled after another minute, and Severus felt Voldemort break the connection with Draco’s mind as he sent him flying back against the wall.

“Get up!” he yelled, when Draco fell to the floor in a heap, his eyes fierce with rage as he waited for the boy to stand.

Draco tried to get up, but it was clear he would never manage to do it on his own. His arms and legs were shaking in aftershocks from both the curses and the after-effects of such a violent mind invasion.

“I said up,” Voldemort hissed after a moment, lifting his arm and forcing Draco to an upright position, his feet dangling a few inches above the floor.

“You allied yourself with the enemy, you provided not only information, but also objects they wished to use against me,” Voldemort said, his voice now low, but still threatening.

Severus saw his Master’s eyes flick red again as he began to close his hand in the air in front of him, Draco’s hands instantly flying to his neck, trying to fight the invisible force strangling him.

“You were willing to help them destroy me?” he hissed after a moment. “You are worse than a coward, worse than a traitor. You are nothing but filth. What would your ancestors think if they knew this is what the Malfoy name has turned into, if they saw their last heir become a blood traitor over a filthy Mudblood?”

Draco’s eyes were full of hatred when he met Voldemort’s gaze, but still not a single word left his lips.

“What are they planning? I want you to tell me all you know. Everything.”

Draco’s eyes flicked to Severus’ for a moment, and then back to Voldemort, a defiant look on his face taking over the evident fear he had been showing.

“Very well. If you do not wish to speak, then I will see it for myself. Legilimens!”

Again, the room fell silent as Voldemort searched Draco’s mind for the answers the boy wouldn’t give.

“Is there anyone else helping them? Do they have any other spies?” he asked, and after a moment spoke again, his tone low with rage. “Those treacherous half-breeds,” he hissed. “I should never have trusted them, they are nothing but animals. They will be taken care of immediately. Now tell me what the Order is planning.”

Severus could see the look of concentration on Voldemort as he fought all the barriers in Draco’s mind to get to the information he wanted.

“A meeting?” the Dark Lord muttered after a moment. “When?” he asked, and Severus noticed Draco’s nose and ears began to bleed at the force of the magic Voldemort was using.

“Five days? Very well,” he said then, finally releasing Draco and watching him fall loudly. “It is time to end this nonsense. Severus?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Did you know the boy had a meeting planned with your witch?”

“No, my Lord,” he replied, his tone low, not wanting to anger Voldemort further.

“Apparently, Potter and that other boy will be there as well.”

“I was not informed of that.”

“Well, Draco here has informed me, although not willingly of course,” he said, throwing Draco a nasty look as the boy raised his head to look at him, “that he believed no one else in the Order knew.”

“Did you see what the reason for such a meeting is, Master?”

“Apparently it was the witch that organized it. Five days from now, Potter will leave the safety of the Order of the Phoenix’s headquarters with no one but his two friends for company. Or perhaps a few older members as well…” he added thoughtfully.

“What do you want me to do, my Lord?” he asked.

“Find out who will be there, and organize the Death Eaters. We must be ready to attack. The time for games has passed; this war must come to an end.”

“Yes, Master.”

“As for you, boy,” Voldemort hissed, turning back to Draco, who had been ineffectively trying to sit up, “you should know better than trying to betray the most powerful wizard of all times. You are nothing but a fool, and like a fool you shall die. Avada…”

“Master, if I may,” Severus interrupted, before he could finish the curse, and Voldemort turned to him, rage clear in his voice when he spoke.

“What now?”

“As much as I believe the boy deserves to die for what he did, I think perhaps it would be better if he stayed alive for now.”

“And why is that?”

“If he has been working for the Order, they will find it strange that he doesn’t contact them again, and the girl will probably not go to the meeting if she doesn’t hear from him until then.”

“Surely, you can come up with a solution for that.”

“Perhaps, Master, but if we want an attack on them to be surprising, successful and final, then it would be better if they suspected nothing.”

“And what will happen if you return the boy to the Order?”

“I can modify his memories, make him forget everything that happened tonight, and then take him to the Order. Me saving their spy from something dangerous, perhaps some attack, will surely increase their trust in me, and will guarantee the meeting still takes place.”

“Perhaps,” Voldemort agreed, “but if they have the boy, why would they go somewhere else for a meeting with him five days from now?”

“I do not know the reasons for such meeting, Master, but I will make sure it still happens. I will modify his memories further if I have to, or discover the purpose of said meeting and find a way to make it happen. Five days from now, Potter will be away from headquarters and almost unprotected, unknowingly awaiting his death; I will make sure it is so, but for that, I will need Draco alive.”

“Very well,” Voldemort said after a few moments of silence. “Take him and leave.”

“Thank you, Master,” Severus said, bowing deeply before turning towards Draco. With a flick of his wand the boy was unconscious again, and Severus levitated him all the way to the entrance before taking his arm and Apparating them both to the Order’s headquarters.