Snape woke up early; his arm wrapped around Tori’s sleeping body. Slowly he removed himself from her embrace, stood up next to the bed and looked down upon her. His emotions overtook him at the sight of the long strawberry brown hair slightly covering her delicate face. Seeing her feminine curves still made his blood rush and he closed his eyes, thinking about last night. He had never felt this way about anyone in his entire life. The need to protect her and shield her from all harm was overwhelming. Gently he bent over her, his lips brushing lightly against hers. He turned around and went into his bathroom. While dressing, he stared into the mirror and mumbled: “Well, Severus Snape, I guess this is it. Always knew you’d end up dead before your time, so don’t start whining now and get on with it.” He took a deep breath, knowing what he had to do.

Quietly he left the dungeon and headed for Tori’s room. It was still dark outside and no one was up at this hour so he didn’t need to hurry. When he got there, he put on the invisibility cloak and took the potion. He was about to leave when he decided he couldn’t leave her like that. She was entitled to an explanation and he felt the need to express his feelings for her. She would hate him for going to the Manor behind her back, but the chances were high that he would never see her again, so it wouldn’t do him any harm to tell her that he loved her. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that Tori loved him back. Surely she had some feelings for him, but he discarded them as mere teenage lust. She would soon enough find another love-interest. He winced, thinking about Tori together with another man. He pinned the letter to her pillow and left.

It was starting to get light when he reached Hogsmeade, where he disapparated to the forest directly outside Malfoy Manor.

When he approached the house, it looked deserted. He knew this was far from true. Its inhabitants would all be fast asleep, tired from their nightly escapades. He managed to enter the house through an open window. *They must consider themselves untouchable to leave this house unprotected against intruders.* He thought. He didn’t know how many people would be inside, but counted on Voldemort, Pettigrew and Malfoy senior himself. By tonight there would be a considerably larger number of adversaries. It was vital that Voldemort drank the weakening potion before the others arrived.

Proceeding inaudibly, he had reached Voldemort’s quarters. He entered the private lab and spotted the supplies of strengthening potion. It was easy to replace it with his own vial. The potions looked identical and he had charmed them to taste the same. He threw the strengthening potion into the fireplace. A loud hissing emerged, but nothing else happened. Now he needed to destroy the formula. He scanned the bookshelves to find the book containing the recipe but he didn’t see any book he didn’t already know almost by memory. He sighed, Voldemort probably kept the recipe close at hand.

He searched the scrolls on the table and discovered something interesting: the wax Draco-doll, wrapped in a piece of parchment. He unwrapped it and read the spell. It was the human accio-spell like Tori thought. It also said the spell had to be recast every time the wizard that had originally cast the spell directed his power elsewhere. He took a mental note to keep this in mind and restored the package in its original form. The next room he entered was Voldemort’s office. He sat himself down at the desk and browsed the papers. None of them contained the recipe. Time was passing fast and he desperately searched through the office. Then he saw a little wooden box with a snake-shaped handle. He opened it and found the recipe. He burned it and replaced it with the recipe for a harmless sleeping potion.

All he needed to do now was find a hiding place to spy on Voldemort. Where better than in the lab, where he could see with his own eyes when Voldemort would take the potion. He left the office and went back to the lab where he hid in the corner behind the door, reassured that his cloak would shield him from their eyes if someone were to enter.

It took a while before life came back to the house. The waiting was nerve-racking and Snape focused his thoughts on Tori while he tried to stay calm. Finally he heard Lucius Malfoy talking to Voldemort. They were preparing for tonight’s ceremony and entered the lab.

“I still cannot believe that Draco hasn’t returned yet.”

“Your son is at Hogwarts, I told you. That is why the spell has failed so far.”

“But I don’t understand why he would want to go there. He loathes Dumbledore!”

“You tell me why he is there, he is YOUR son.” Voldemort’s cold voice made Malfoy shiver; it didn’t look good for Draco.

“Are you going to stop the spell?”

“No. The moment he leaves Hogwarts grounds he will be transported here. We must keep trying until the ceremony starts. Then I will consider him lost.” Malfoy swallowed, knowing what that meant. He went on his knees and groveled.

“Please Master; I’m sure Draco is not at Hogwarts by means of his own free will. Let me go to…”

“NO!” Voldemort raised his voice only slightly, but the terror on Malfoy’s face showed he knew he shouldn’t push the subject any further for fear of what might be done to him in return.

“As I said, we will wait. Now, when are the others to arrive?”

“They will be here before sundown, Master. The novices have to be prepared before we can begin the initiation.”

“Fine, now, leave me alone, I have work to do.”

Lucius Malfoy left the lab and Snape stared at Voldemort. This was the moment of truth. If Voldemort would be able to sense him, he would be doing so any moment now. Then he realized something. If Voldemort were to discover him in the lab, all of his efforts would be ruined. Dumbledore had been right. Voldemort would never drink his potion after seeing him here. The door to the lab was still open and Snape slowly slid towards it. Then he froze. Voldemort had turned around and stared right at him. For a moment, it seemed like they locked eyes and Snape was unable to move. Then he realized that Voldemort couldn’t see him and wasn’t even looking at him. Pettigrew had come in and stood right behind Snape. He moved aside and slipped behind him, leaving the lab undetected.

He decided to hide outside the house in the garden, where the initiation ritual would take place. If anyone were to find him there, they would assume he was here to stop the ceremony. It was quite cold outside and he looked for the position of the sun to determine the time. He concluded that it was halfway through the afternoon. Soon the Death Eaters would be arriving. He saw Voldemort coming out into the garden, inspecting the ritual grounds. Then it hit him. He had to make Voldemort drink the potion by forcing him to use his power. If Voldemort were weakened enough, he would surely need another sip of his potion. Snape thought of the human-accio spell. It required a lot of energy. He had to provoke a situation that would lead to a renewal of the spell. He needed Voldemort to use his magic. It seemed rather radical, but he saw no other way.

Snape deliberately stepped on a twig. The cracking sound it made caused Voldemort to turn around, facing him. He approached the hiding place and saw the broken twig. Snape held his breath, knowing that he was about to be discovered. Voldemort reached out and pulled the invisibility cloak from him. Snape did not have to fake his fear when he saw Voldemort’s rage on finding him there. He stretched his back and looked straight into the eyes of death. Voldemort had raised his wand.

“Expelliarmus” he said softly, and Snape’s wand flew into his free hand. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Really Severus, I haven’t given you nearly enough credit thinking you wouldn’t have the guts to show your face here again. But then, you weren’t planning on being seen, am I right?” he laughed irritatingly. “Now, what am I going to do with you?” He started pacing around Snape, talking slowly, torturing him by delaying his execution. “Tell me, dear Severus, what were you doing here? You don’t honestly think that you can stop my little ceremony all by yourself, do you? Snape looked at him without blinking. Voldemort mocked him: “My, my, I believe you DID come here to stop me. Oh Severus, such arrogance does not suit you. I liked it better when you were your former humble self. But I will do you a favor, for old time’s sake.” He smiled widely and Snape couldn’t stop himself from shivering when he continued. “I will let you witness the rise of the next generation of Death Eaters…if you recover.” And then he laughed out loud, aiming his wand at his former follower, screaming: “CRUCIO!!”

The pain hit Snape like a bold of lightning. After the first few hits, he was able to control the pain by focusing his mind on something else: the soothing hazel eyes of his beloved. Voldemort continued the torture; tormenting him by firing the curse with increasing intensity until the pain over took his entire being. In a flash he saw Harry Potter at Hogwarts lying on the floor with Tori bent over him. Tori…and then it all went black.

Voldemort kicked his unconscious victim in the ribs. Lucius Malfoy, who had come out while Voldemort was having his fun with Snape, did the same. “You see Lucius, in the end they always get what they deserve.” He cried out in ecstasy, his bloodthirsty being completely satisfied for now. Malfoy slowly removed himself from the scene, shivering at the thought of what his son would have to endure if he didn’t show up soon. He himself would probably have to suffer as well. “Damn it Draco, where the hell are you!” he muttered.

When the adrenaline rush settled down, Voldemort found himself drained by the energy it had cost him to punish Snape. He had put up quite a fight, but then again, he always knew Snape was good for a little show. Hopefully he would regain consciousness for the ceremony. It would be the last thing this despicable traitor would see! He went to his lab, knowing he needed to restore the human-accio spell, although deep down, he had already given up on the young Malfoy. However, there was no need to alarm Malfoy senior before tonight’s ceremony was over. He picked up the doll and read the spell, having a hard time concentrating. No, first he needed his potion. He took it from the shelf and took a sip. Thinking about the amount of energy he wasted on Snape, he decided he needed an extra dosage and took another one. He felt his stomach twitch a little, but blamed it on the overdose. When he got back outside, he smiled, seeing the results of his most loyal subject’s preparations. There was a circle of stones laid out in the garden. In the center of the circle stood an altar of obsidian where he would burn the dark mark into the left arm of the novices. A large chair decorated with snake-shaped ornaments stood right behind the altar. Voldemort went to sit in his chair, looked sideways to Snape’s motionless body and smiled, awaiting the arrival of his Death Eaters.