Bonds of Affection

At the entrance to the Castle, Voldemort stopped, and extended his hand to Lucius. Lucius passed something into his hand quickly – Severus did not see what it was, but he instantly suspected that it was his wand, that Lucius had confiscated from him earlier. Then, Bellatrix, Pettigrew and Voldemort entered the Castle. Draco hesitated briefly.



“Go inside, and stay there,” Lucius snapped. Draco nodded briefly and went in.



Severus made a move to follow him, but Lucius shook his head. “Not you, old friend,” he said. “Not this time.”



Severus stood still, his arms folded on his chest. “What do you mean?” he asked calmly, however, in his mind, he already suspected what the answer was going to be.



“What I mean, Severus, is that you are not welcome where the Dark Lord and Nagini reside,” Lucius murmured with feigned sadness.



“Alright,” Severus said dryly. “I suppose I'll just go back to my so-called normal life then, and prepare for another year of teaching potions to dimwitted brats.”



Lucius laughed unpleasantly. His wand was pointing at Severus, and a quick spell later, Severus found his hands restrained behind his back.



Lucius pointed, with a mocking bow, to a little enclosure outside of the castle – a small wooden structure, with a simple entrance. “Go,” he said, in no uncertain terms.



Severus complied, with a brief shrug.



Inside, there was no furniture, no windows, no fireplace – nothing at all, but a single set of chains, hanging from the ceiling, and a Scorpion whip, lying on the floor casually.



Severus rose his eyebrows slightly and pursed his lips into a disdainfully thin line. If Lucius was attempting to intimidate him, he was failing rather miserably. Lucius saw his smile and reciprocated it.



“Yes, yes,” he purred. “You are the stoic one. You are not afraid of anything. I get the picture.”



Severus shrugged again. “Well, why should I be?” he asked calmly. “We are old friends, after all. You know me better than anyone.”



“Yes,” Lucius murmured. “But now... now I know you even better. Now that I have examined your wand, Severus.”



Without saying anything, Severus lunged at him, with the intent to knock him off his feet. Even with his arms bound behind his back – he thought he stood a chance, maybe he could bite through the artery in his throat. Lucius, however, was ready – and hit him with a body-binding spell. Severus fell hard, onto the floor, feeling a bone in his arm crack, and agony stab through the injury.



Lucius stepped away from him, with his wand still in his hand. He used his wand, and spells, one after another, to lift Severus off the floor, raise his arms above his head and lock them in restraints, held by the chains hanging from the ceiling. Then, restraints went around his ankles, anchoring them to the floor. With one final spell, Lucius stripped Severus of his clothing, casting all of it aside. Done, he smiled smugly, satisfied with his victim's helplessness.



“Shall we talk now then, old friend?” Lucius murmured.



Severus cast a disdainful glance at him.



“The night of your pet's punishment,” Lucius murmured, “You mentioned that you had used a few healing spells on him... and then, that you still needed to complete the healing. Of course, had you actually attempted to cast any healing spells, you would have quickly discovered that our second dwelling, even though set up in tremendous haste, had the exact same restrictions on it. No healing spells work there, either. So I wondered, what an odd lie... rather random... I examined your wand, old friend. Not a single healing spell. However, plenty of other spells had emerged from your wand recently. Some scrambling spells, apparently to terminate the audio surveillance in your quarters... why? What were you training your pet to do, that you did not want us to know about?”



Severus gazed at him speechlessly. He had considered making up a plausible lie – but the look in Lucius' eyes told him that it was too late.



“Now then,” Lucius murmured. “You spent a major part of that night to ... levitate things? Why? What were you doing, Severus? I would like to know.”



Severus pressed his lips tightly shut.



Lucius laughed indulgently. “Ah, the mysteries. I love a good mystery, Severus. Even though it seems to be pointless at this point, I would like to find out.... the true reason behind those spells. I intend to ... work with you for a while here.”



Lucius paused for a bit, and circled around him, hands tracing his body, fingers probing in intimate places. Severus nearly shuddered from revulsion.



“Of course,” Lucius sighed. “It's just too bad that your Occlumency skills are so formidable. It is also equally unfortunate that you, the potions master, have made yourself immune to Veritaserum. I am afraid that you are your own worst enemy, my dear, for now, only one way remains to ... lift your inhibitions, and make you more susceptible to a well-placed Legilimency spell.”



Severus glanced at the Scorpion whip, still on the floor. As if on cue, Lucius went to pick it up.



“I assure you, that your body is of no value whatsoever to our mission. For that reason, I will be significantly less...gentle with you, than you were with your little duckling.”



Severus took a deep breath to still himself. Losing his focus, and letting Lucius slip into his mind, was simply not an option. There was no way he could permit Lucius to find out that Harry might still be alive. But he told himself, he had nothing to worry about. He was used to pain by now – and this would not be worse than what he had already endured – as Voldemort's bond punished him, time and again, over the years, for his unfaithfulness.



Still, when the first blow struck against his back, the agony took him by surprise. It was like a serpent's bite, like a stabbing wound, like a fire setting to his body. He hissed violently, feeling a trickle of blood run down his back. For a moment, he convulsed furiously, not being able to utter a single sound. Eventually, he regained his voice and spoke:



“Careful, Lucius. You will open the veins and have me bleed to death, before you have a chance to enjoy yourself fully.”



Lucius laughed gently. “Ah, but we are outside of the Castle, old friend. The healing spells work here. I could do this for days, if I wanted to... destroy your body, heal it, and destroy it again...” The fingers of his torturer touched Severus on the back, probing the fresh wound, deepening the agony. “Surrender yourself to me, Severus,” Lucius whispered with tenderness. “Yield, and I will give you a clean death. Something... peaceful. Lower the barriers of your mind, let me see everything that is there. Submit, and I will make your pain go away. Forever.”



Severus glanced at him with incredulity and pity at once. “How can I state it delicately, Lucius? It will be a cold day in hell before I submit to you.”



Lucius' hand clasped around his throat, constricting his breath. “Guess what, Severus?” he said furiously. “You are in hell. And you have a blizzard heading your way.”



More furious, vicious blows fell, spreading agony throughout his body. Severus fought the pain, then, yielded to it, riding it out, waiting, simply waiting; and nothing else.



Lucius paused several times, to cast Legilimency spells, and when they had no effect, he resumed the torture. While his body convulsed in agony, being torn apart, losing blood, Severus kept his mind still, closed, focused, not allowing a single thought to penetrate the barrier that he had kept for years – the wall that no longer was his salvation – but now became Harry's.



Perhaps he had known pain worse than this, Severus thought, but he could no longer remember. Still, his lips were locked into a contemptuous grimace that never faded, and he could tell that Lucius was growing more and more infuriated by it. The torment intensified, and he found himself near fainting, but each time his mind drifted off, Lucius had cast a spell to bring him out of unconsciousness, to ensure that Severus came awake for more.



His vision obscured by red fog, he saw Lucius stopping suddenly, and staring at his own Dark Mark, as if listening to it. Finally, Lucius spoke, one final time:



“Pity. It appears that The Dark Lord decided that the details of your betrayal are inconsequential. It's time to end this.”



Severus laughed softly. The end, he thought – finally, the end to it all; the end to pain, the end to double life, the end to being an instrument of suffering at the hands of the Dark Lord... and the end to Harry's enslavement, as well. For the remainder of his life, Harry could be a free person, free of the slave-bond, free to live out his last days as simply himself.



Lucius was staring at him thoughtfully, as if waiting for him to acknowledge his fate. Severus did not mind. He nodded slightly, and opened his eyes to face his death.



Lucius pointed the wand at him, and uttered the Killing Curse.



The green light enveloped Severus, and held him. For some reason he had been expecting to see his parents, or perhaps, Lily and James Potter at the moment of his death – but he saw nothing. Still, he had no regrets – just the satisfaction and pride in knowing that he had not betrayed his beloved.



For a brief moment, Severus stood on the edge of the abyss, balancing precariously, as if suspended between life and death. Then something gave way, and he fell.



To Be Continued....