Waiting

Bella sat down in the empty room, eyes flashing briefly in the firelight, and took a drink of the scotch, waiting impatiently for her guest to arrive. Soon enough she heard the knock on the door, echoing through the empty house. A small pattering of feet, a click and a groan as the door opened, and then another, heavier set of footsteps sounded a staccato in the hallway as they neared the room she was in. She waved her hand, causing the fire to grow more, casting the room in a warm light. She set her now empty glass down on a low table directly opposite her seat, and stood up gracefully, facing the door and waiting for him to enter.


The door swung open and Severus Snape entered the room, eyes taking in the books lining the walls, the empty glass on the table, and the pale, raven haired woman standing partially obscured in the shadows, and snorted softly. \"What was so important you needed to pull me from school in the middle of the bloody night?!\" Severus snapped at her, clearly not in the mood for any games or foolishness.


Bella shook her head and laughed wickedly. \"Severus, I wouldn\'t have called you if it wasn\'t important. I have a gift from my Lord that he wishes me to give to you.\"


Severus kept his face carefully schooled to appear uncaring, but inside he felt a glimmer of hope that maybe it was something he could use in his favor, something he could use to help end the war so he and Remus could finally be together without the constant threat of death looming over them. He snorted again and nodded sharply. \"Show me then, Bellatrix.\"


Bella beckoned him over to the massive oak desk next to where she stood, and when he had made his way over to him, she looked at a small object covered compltely with a dark purple cloth and looked at it almost worshipfully. She spoke in a hushed whisper, eyes flashing in the firelight with what looked like fanatical devotion, and Severus smiled inwardly. For it to cause this much of a reaction, it must be important indeed. Bella looked at him and took a step back, bowing slightly as she did so. \"My Lord has told me this gift is only for you, to use to bring him further glory.\"


Severus lifted the cloth and blinked, leaning a bit closer to see if his eyes decieved him in the near darkness of the room. He murmured softly, shaking his head in disbelief. \"It is only a...\" His words were cut short as Bella hefted a vase in her hand and hit him with all the stength that she had. He half turned, looking at her with wide eyes, and crumpled to the ground even as he reached for his wand. She bent down and pulled his wand from his cloak pocket, laughing darkly to herself as she regarded his unconcious form at her feet. She snapped his wand in half and smirked, kicking him in his head as she spoke. \"That\'s right, Severus, it\'s only a tea cup. What a thing to die for.\"


Severus woke up with a groan, and tried to sit up without opening his eyes. When he found he was unable to move, he blinked his eyes open painfully and looked around him, shaking inside as he realized where exactly he was. Lucius had taken many a Muggle here, and none had come out alive. His wrists were tightly bound, allowing not even an inch of movement, and his legs were pulled apart, and bound just as tightly as his arms were. And he was apparenently naked as well from what little he could see of himself. He heard a laugh from his right, and turned his head quickly, wincing as pain shot through it. Bellatrix, oh gods...


Bella stalked around the table Severus was tied to, licking her lips and grinning almost ferally. She ran her eyes down the bound form of Severus and clicked her tongue as she did so. Suddenly she stopped at the foot of the table and smirked at him. \"The gift Severus, that\'s what I am going to give you right now. My Lord does not like traitors. Puerile scum!\" Bella leaned forward and scraped her long fingernail down his chest, frowning when all Severus did was pale slightly.


Bella threw her head back and laughed in a sharp, harsh sounding voice, very nearly a cackle. \"Not very grateful, are you? Well, I\'ll have to make sure you are screaming your thanks before I finish, won\'t I?\"


Oh fuck Severus thought briefly, and then he closed his eyes again, willing himself to stay quiet - to not give her the satisfaction of his screams no matter what she did to him.


Soon, however, his screams rang out despite his intentions of holding them back, and she was slick with his blood. He saw her mouth split open and shards of his own flesh were rended in her teeth as she grinned darkly at him, and the last thing he heard was her sharp laughing and cold voice speaking to him. \"Your lover will be more fun to play with, I think.\" Severus screamed again, a primal sound that echoed off the stone walls of the room he was dying in, and mercifully the terror he felt for Remus was cut short as Bella drew the knife across his throat, causing his scream to end in a bloody gurgle and allowing his life to finally drain away from him.


Bella brought the knife to her mouth and licked carefully at the sharp blade, her tongue flicking out and cleaning the knife bit by bit until it shone once more. She looked with disgust at the mutilated body in front of her, angry that he hadn\'t screamed until towards the very end, and dropped the knife heedlessly on the floor. She snapped her fingers and the door to the room clicked open and a man entered the room, smiling wickedly as he surveyed her handiwork.


\"Take care of him, and make sure he is found soon. My Lord wishes everyone to know what happens to those that betray him.\" Bella strode from the room, her dark hair swinging limply behind him, damp with the blood of the man she had killed.


Lucius waited until she had left the room and went about loosening the bonds that held the now limp body of Severus to the table, and swung the man over his shoulder, grimacing slightly as he felt blood begin to seep through his robes In all probability ruining them he thought to himself. And then he left the room, knowing with certainty where he would place Severus\' corpse, and then cause the Dark Mark to appear, and he grinned again, wishing he could see the look on the werewolf\'s face when he learned his lover had been tortured and killed.