I don't own Harry Potter. TW for violence.

Chapter 7

He is looking forward to crawling into bed and sleeping like a log, but his hope of finally getting some rest is dashed when his left arm begins to burn.

Shit, shit, shit, and fuck.

Although this and an assortment of even more colourful words run through his mind as he summons his Death Eater robes, he feels no real panic, just mild irritation and a deep sense of resignation. He has been called at more inopportune times. He has been called in a state of greater sleep deprivation or ill health. To say that he is comfortable being summoned to the Dark Lord's presence at the drop of a hat is not exactly true, but it's something he has grown used to. There is a routine to it: grovel, occlude, pass on whatever information—or misinformation—Dumbledore has approved, report to the headmaster, and then scrub himself raw in the shower, treating injuries as needed.

Speaking of injuries, Bellatrix has looked better. He allows a smirk, and she makes a rude gesture at him when she notices it. The hostility between Bellatrix and himself is no secret. He actually doesn't know the root of her bad feelings, but he suspects it has something to do with feeling threatened by his unique position within the Dark Lord's followers. As for himself, he simply thinks she is pathetic. Dangerous, certainly, but pathetic nonetheless. Even now, he thinks the way she looks at the Dark Lord, like she is a small child who has been given a time-out and can't decide whether to be resentful or appeal for forgiveness, is demeaning for a grown woman.

It turns out that Bellatrix is a central figure at this meeting, although it isn't the kind of attention she craves. This meeting is about her failure to "obtain" Potter the other night. While lesser Death Eaters were involved in the attack, Bellatrix was clearly in charge, and it brings him satisfaction to see both shame and desperation written on her face.

"Severus?" the Dark Lord calls on him.

"Yes, my lord?" He keeps his expression neutral, save for the slight raise of his eyebrows.

"Where were you the night of this failed mission?" The emphasis on failed is clearly intended for Bellatrix, who looks increasingly distressed.

"I was at home, my lord," he answers honestly.

"And where has the old fool put the boy now?"

It is still disconcerting to be the sole focus of those red eyes, but he is used to suppressing the feeling. "I'm afraid I do not know," he lies. "I assume Potter is at Hogwarts recuperating. All I was told was that he was injured and that I was to find out as much as I could about the attack."

As the Dark Lord's eyes bore into his, it feels like someone is trying to remove a cross-section of his skull. This is why he was so ruthless when tasked with teaching Potter occlumency. Compared to the Dark Lord's legilimency, his was downright gentle. He knows the pain would be even worse if he didn't have occlumency; it's hard to get your mind off pain that is happening in your mind itself, but occluding does create a mild buffer. Thankfully, he doesn't have to hide the fact he is employing occlumency. The Dark Lord would never send him to spy on Dumbledore if he didn't know Severus was practiced in the mind arts. It is only the Dark Lord's own pride that keeps him from thinking that perhaps his spy could fool him as well.

The Dark Lord ends the spell, satisfied. The corners of his mouth curl up ever so slightly as Severus makes a conscious effort to unclench his jaw and relax his shoulders. The Dark Lord harbours no delusions that his mental invasion is not incredibly painful, but rather delights in it, even when not explicitly trying to cause pain.

"Hogwarts," the Dark Lord muses. "I can't get to him at Hogwarts. But of course, that's always the issue, isn't it?"

None of the Death Eaters, not even Crabbe or Goyle senior, are daft enough to answer the rhetorical question.

"With any luck, it won't be an issue for much longer." His eyes snap to Lucius, and he gives a feral grin. Lucius gulps audibly. Perhaps this comment is meant to imply that Hogwarts will be his once Draco completes his task. Lucius must know that what the Dark Lord has asked of his son is near-impossible.

After relishing Lucius's discomfort for a long moment, the Dark Lord addresses the whole assembly again. "I have nothing more to say tonight, but expect new missions. We have an… interesting new source of information." He twirls his wand between skeletal fingers as he leans back in his chair with a self-satisfied expression. "It seems that not all of Dumbledore's sheep are too blind to realize that I am the superior bet."

The group shifts as the Death Eaters glance around at each other, displaying various levels of surprise and suspicion. Bellatrix, on the other hand, suddenly throws herself onto the ground and actually begs, "Please, my lord, you promised you would tell me who the new spy is after the ambush!"

"The new spy"?

Everyone else moves back in tandem, sensing the flame that Bellatrix has just lit in her desperation to remind the Dark Lord that he favoured her enough to promise the disclosure of sensitive information just a few short days ago. Severus's mind is already racing through potential defectors.

"That was if the ambush was successful," hisses the Dark Lord disdainfully. "Surely you are not so stupid as to think I would share such details with you now?"

"My lord," Bellatrix continues to wail, "please, I did get the Potter boy with that new curse I showed you! It wasn't a total failure!"

"The instructions were to capture Potter, Bella." The Dark Lord's low tone contrasts starkly with her wild pleas. "You did not capture Potter, therefore you failed. Crucio."

Her screams bounce off the walls, and Severus's stomach turns. He has seen much worse, has heard much worse, children wailing as they're skinned alive and women begging as their husbands mutilate them under the Imperius Curse, but it is the principle of the thing that disturbs him. It always has. It was the first hint that he'd made the wrong choice by becoming a Death Eater. Some of his cohorts, on the other hand, are watching with rapt attention and even look disappointed when the Dark Lord ends the curse.

The Dark Lord eyes the trembling heap on the floor. "I told you, Bella," he says coldly, "I expect better from you." When he looks up and sees his followers staring, he says, "That is all for tonight!" in a tone that suggests he is displeased with them for loitering after already having been dismissed, even though they hadn't yet been told to leave.

Severus can't apparate fast enough. He lands himself right in front of the fireplace at Spinner's End and throws a handful of green powder into the Floo.

"Dumbledore's office," he barks, knowing in the back of his mind that he won't be sleeping any time soon.

AN: A question for my readers: does anyone have a preference for how much of a role Draco Malfoy plays in the story, and whether he is purely antagonistic or "misguided but redeemable" (or any other characterizations—perhaps even sympathetic)?