In Dreams

A chill wind ran swiftly through the forest, causing the soft cacophony of rustling leaves to persist unabated. Everything else in the ancient wood was silent. All living things had long since abandoned any pretense of living in such a haunted place. The old magic that lay brooding within the heart of the wood resonated with the evil that had taken over its being many years ago.

“Follow me.”

The pair made their way to a clearing that could be seen through the trees ahead. There was what appeared to be a small campfire in the center of the grassy area, but nothing else could be seen. It appeared that they were alone. Appearances can be deceiving…

Hermione took a deep breath to calm her nerves as they stepped into the glade. This was it, everything she had been working toward in the past few weeks was either going to save them, or destroy them. For a brief second, she wasn’t sure she could do it after all.

I will be able to speak to you like this, to instruct you, using the Occlumency I have taught you. If you have any doubts, I will be able to give you direction. There is a barrier in this connection that should prevent any intruders from seeing our communications, but it can still be broken by one who is very skilled in the art. I will only use it if absolutely essential. If all goes well, this should be the last time you hear from me in this manner.

And after the briefest of pauses...

Close your mind, and do not be afraid.

It was as if she could hear him in her head. But the shock had barely registered when suddenly a dozen or more robed and hooded black figures emerged from various breaks in the trees surrounding the area they stood in. They swiftly formed their own circle surrounding the fire.

Severus took her by the shoulders and forcefully stood her directly in front of him, barely an inch away. This was it. He mentally forced himself to relax and appear completely in control. I hope this is convincing…

To Hermione, it felt like ages. They all just stood there, like immovable stones that had been in this place since the dawn of time. Not a word was spoken, no movement could be seen. In fact, if it weren’t for Professor Snape’s breathing, she might have sworn that she was the only remaining living being. She found slight comfort in the fact that he kept his hands on her shoulders the whole time. It reassured her of his presence and gave her an eerie confidence that seemed to be some sort of resignation to her fate, whatever it might be.

But no matter how comforting his presence was, it did not completely stem the darkness that had settled in the pit of her stomach. Here she was, standing in the midst of Voldemort’s most trusted and loyal servants. These people, each and every one, was responsible for hundreds of deaths and various torture. They had maimed, beaten and broken some of the most formidable witches and wizards that had experienced the misfortune of crossing the path of the Dark Lord and invoking his wrath. They were daunting, dangerous and deadly.

With a howl that shook the very bases of the trees surrounding the glade, the wind became a suddenly violent force. The gusts blew the cloaks of the Death Eaters in an eerie dance that was strangely beautiful. There was something about the directions of the wind that struck her as odd. It appeared to form a vortex around the fire, causing its flames to leap wildly, and yet it persisted. In fact, as she watched, it appeared to grow bigger. There was something about it that seemed almost… solid.

Her eyes grew wide when with one last deafening howl that crashed around them, the fire was extinguished. The darkness that followed was akin to blindness. Time seemed to stretch on. Hermione was about to open the wards in her mind and question her professor when she was muted by what happened next.

“Why, hello little Mudblood.”

Mere inches from her face, two red slits appeared.

“We’ve been expecting you.”

The fire suddenly reappeared, illuminating the surroundings once more, except now there was another figure in their midst. Hermione was barely able to stifle the gasp that battled to escape her throat. He was terrifying. Nothing in her most terrible mental images had prepared her for the horrible being that towered before her. He was pale. More pale than any human she had ever seen. So pale that he almost appeared to have a bluish tinge due to the web of veins that snaked their way throughout his body. His serpent-like features gave him a reptilian look that was even more grotesque than she had imagined.

But…

His eyes. That was the worst part. Those crimson orbs that peered from between the thin slits of skin that covered them, shining with amusement.

His expression spoke of a sick humor the he found in the current situation. He had waited months for this moment, and his reward now stood in front of him. This girl, she would be a tool. Her intelligence and ingenuity would help them in their final preparations for the upcoming raids. She would be vital in their last battles against the dirty filth that sullied the pure magic that was not theirs to use. He liked the irony of using a Mudblood to rid the magical world Mudbloods. It was all so poetic.

“Well Severus, you have delivered,” he said, finally tearing his gaze from the frightened girl’s face and bestowing Severus with a satisfied grin.

“I must admit, I had my doubts about you. But, I gave you a chance, and you have pleased your Lord.”

With a curt nod, Severus acknowledged the praise.

“Bring her a little closer to the fire… I want to see what I have acquired.”

Go. It is time.

She stepped forward, reminding herself with each step that she was ready. I can do this.

As she made her way forward, everything seemed to move about her in slow motion. The figures, the fire, even Voldemort himself undertook such a strange clarity that she almost felt as if she could sense their magical energy. They seemed like soft pulses, though the most powerful pulse was present in Voldemort himself. If she hadn’t brought herself back to the matter at hand, she might have lost all hope. How could anyone possible defeat the raw power that she witnessed before her?

“Interesting. This girl does not appear to have anything remotely significant about her appearance. However, she has talent with a wand and spell-crafting?” He posed this question to Severus.

“Indeed. She has been the top of her class each year she has attended Hogwarts. Dumbledore expects her to have innumerable untapped abilities that could hold greater power than the wizarding world has seen in many years.”

“Is that so.” He turned back toward Hermione and scrutinized her closely, as if peering as some strange caged animal. She found it exceedingly difficult to maintain the nonchalant stupor when he was in such close proximity to her, when all her instincts were telling her to flee.

“Well, for her sake she had better be. Dumbledore does tend to exaggerate a bit when it comes to his prized students, but I can sense her magic.” He frowned and paced the circle of death eaters. It was obvious that something about her was vexing him, but none of his followers seemed to know what it was.

“It seems... we have a problem.” He said plainly.

Severus’ knuckles whitened. The barriers hadn’t been broken, but had Voldemort discovered them that quickly?

“What I need, is the girl’s ingenuity. Her talent is of no use when she is under the Imperious Curse, as essentially, she cannot think for herself. I knew this when I first decided to obtain her.”

There was a small whisper from one of the cloaked figures, which was immediately drowned out by screams of pain as he endured the Cruciatus Curse.

“You dare doubt my actions, Goyle?” he hissed. He swiftly lifted the curse and glared at the whimpering figure on the ground. “You always were slow, Goyle. I wouldn’t expect someone of your miniscule brain capacity to ever be able to contemplate the pure genius of my plans.”

Voldemort closed his lids and briefly massaged his temples. When his eyes reopened, they immediately connected with those of Severus.

“Severus, I am entrusting you with this task. You will persuade her to help you with our raid plans under the guise of helping Dumbledore with a counter-attack against us. We cannot break her if we wish to use her in the manner I see fit, though it may eventually come to that point if she discovers your true initiative. She is your puppet, to manipulate as you will. If you must seduce her, or use potions to gain her trust, do so. Do you understand?”

Severus could barely breathe. He managed to exhale and nod in compliance.

“I shall do my very best, my Lord.”

“Good,” Voldemort replied. “Because you know it will mean your death and hers if you fail.”

The pacing began again, though his focus appeared to have shifted to a different matter.

“The raids will begin soon. If all goes well, we shall begin our first before mid-December. You will all be present for the festivities, and we will meet before then to go over the final plans.” He stopped in his tracks and turned back toward Hermione.

“I look forward to seeing you again, little pet.” He wrapper his sinewy fingers under her jaw and forced her eyes to his. A flicker of suspicion clouded his face as he looked into the depths of her orbs. He narrowed his eyes. “You will help us rebuild our world… the way it was meant to be.”

He abruptly let her go and dismissed his followers by turning around and disapparating amongst the flames of the fire. One-by-one the Death Eaters followed in silence, none of them speaking a word.

It appeared that the only reason for the meeting was to make sure that Severus had completed the task set to him. And it seemed Voldemort was satisfied, but he had looked distinctly suspicious when he looked into Hermione’s face.

Well that could have been decidedly worse, Severus thought. This reassured him, knowing that she hadn’t had to endure any of the rather… darker activities that normally took place at these little shindigs. Then again, he reminded himself, the Department of Mysteries was pretty bad. In fact, he reflected, besides the slight outburst inflicted upon Goyle, the Dark Lord had been damned near pleasant.

Not good for us. Anything that put Voldemort in a good mood meant back tidings for the Order. Things were going well for him, and he was obviously pleased.

The last Death Eater had long since vanished, and Severus finally sensed it would be safe to speak.

“Are you… alright?” he queried. He stepped forward cautiously.

Hermione was still facing the flames. She felt disoriented, and barely heard the question of her Potions professor. She barely noticed when he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Miss Granger?” Still no answer.

“Erm… Hermione?” This finally seemed to snap her out of it.

“Oh, I’m sorry Professor… I-,” but he held up a hand to silence her.

“No need. Let’s go home.” He gave her a slightly reassuring look, though the ever-present frown was still plastered on his face. She nodded in compliance, and grabbed his arm.

And as she took one last look around her, a sudden shock of realization struck her. How had she failed to notice this entire time?

“It’s the wood from my dream…” she whispered. And with that, they were gone.