Bad Ass

Disclaimer: I'm borrowing the characters and world of this story from JK Rowling for a nonprofit pursuit: my own amusement. The contents of this story are connected in no way, shape or form with the following entities: Pepsi, John Kerry, Nabisco, Bill Gates, NBC, the terrorists responsible for the Hindenburgh explosion, Jennifer Love Hewitt, the estate of Jimi Hendrix, Dave Chappelle, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Rand McNally, Home Depot, Burger King, Betty Crocker or the idiots on Survivor. Any resemblance to these people or entities is purely coincidental, nor does it matter because nobody reads these stupid disclaimers all the way through anyway. Enjoy!

Chapter 1 - The Very Devil

Town of Norton

The wind was blowing from the north and it was blowing cold, but Severus Snape felt none of it. He was on the ground, on his belly, crawling through the thick underbrush surrounding the town of Norton. Further behind him and to his left he heard a grunt and a curse. Turning his head, he glared at Harper, the Death Eater behind him. Harper looked up apologetically but Severus said nothing. He'd teach that pathetic excuse for a soldier a lesson when this was all over, if they survived.

He looked back to the rest of the Death Eaters following him into battle. They kept low, just as he had told them to. At his insistence, the Dark Lord had allowed them to lose their white masks in favor of dull black ones. All exposed skin was painted black, and robes were given up for trousers and boots. This mission was very important to the Dark Lord, and Severus was determined that Voldemort would see how seriously he took it.

Because when he failed in the task, it would not be said that Severus had failed to take precautions. And they would fail, of that Severus was sure. He would see to it. The trick was making it look like the others had failed as soldiers and not he. Death would come for him soon enough, but his work was not quite done yet. This is why, despite the fact that it would make the Order's job harder, he had ordered his men into night camouflage.

The town could be seen through the trees, the lights from the houses casting long shadows along the ground, and in that shadow would be members of the Order of the Phoenix. Severus had to reign in his own adrenaline just at the thought, at least until the battle began in earnest. The Death Eaters were expecting some resistance. The town was made up of nearly a quarter of the Ministry's Aurors. Severus had always thought it very silly indeed that so many Aurors should live in such an unprotected little town, but he was not in charge of things and it showed. At any rate, the Aurors were joined tonight by the Order as per Severus' suggestion in the message he had managed to get through. Of course, none in the Order, not even Dumbledore, knew whom it was that had sent the message. He would be fighting tonight, no doubt about that.

The Dark Lord's orders were to kill as many Aurors as possible and visit the same fate on the families. With any luck, the families would have been moved out by now. At any rate, the Death Eaters would be taking no prisoners. And it fell to him to weather the storm, protect himself from his allies, and protect his allies from his men.

All wars are based on deception, he thought as a particularly vicious wind snapped through the trees overhead. Even the most righteous use it to win. They call it strategy but it is still deception. Severus was the master of deception. His Muggle father had taught him all about his religion. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and the Father of Lies, locked in a timeless battle over men's souls. When Severus had been younger, he had been filled with a sense of fear and guilt whenever his father preached to him or dragged him to church on Sundays. There was a lot he could say about his father's hypocrisy, but that was neither here nor there.

What had really impressed him later on in life were the mechanics of this so-called 'heavenly' war. He had read the 'Old Testament' as a child, and his father had told him that Satan was the adversary in all the stories. It had seemed to Severus that the 'adversary' had been an essential role, a voice of dissent and reason in a world where all paid homage to one Supreme Being. Later, he had formed the idea that perhaps Satan had the right of it. "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," indeed. Why serve a being so fickle? But he did not care to study the motivations of the heavenly host as it were. He knew his own mind and would keep only that for counsel. What he had begun to appreciate in the last few years were the ways Satan had waged his war. It seemed to Severus that if God were so very all-powerful and had the power of all the hosts of heaven, the true Dark Lord, Father of Lies, Deceiver and Traitor, would have been killed outright already. No, Satan enjoyed some measure of success because he was clever. And Severus was still alive because of that very reason. He had more than once laughed over people calling him 'the very devil'. True in some ways. But while Satan enjoyed notoriety for being evil, Severus was not. Oh, he was bad and in some ways very dark, but not evil, never evil. But in the end, Severus had to agree with Milton: it was better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. Or from his point of view: to be master of himself rather than slave to another.

Severus scanned the town once more for movement. There, behind the hedge there … and there again, on the roof. They were walking into a trap, but he knew better than to think that the men following him would be taken down so easily. And because all things in his life were ironies these days, he felt relieved by that fact. There were some that he would kill himself, not if, but when he got the chance.

Still, a few of them had been with him since his school days. Some of them had children that he had met. He protected them as best he could, considering what his purpose was. Luckily, his only true friend, Lucius, was not here and would likely never be. Lucius was too valuable to lose in a battle like this and for that he took great comfort. He could not confide in Lucius, he could not support Lucius' politics in his heart, but when all was said and done, he would never give Lucius away or harm him.

Another wind whipped through the trees above him. He took a moment to look up through the canopy into the clear sky. One never knew when it would be the last time after all. But his eyes did not linger. He turned to look back at his men and without hesitation, signaled the advance formation forward. He watched from behind as they moved quietly through the underbrush towards the town. Did they see the danger? he wondered. He was torn as to whether he wished them to or not. But when all was said and done, it was the responsibility of these particular soldiers to spot such danger. If they did not, then they would not survive long anyway.

He watched with the others as the advance guard stood from their cover after signaling and moved forward into the town proper. No, they had not seen the danger. Severus frowned.

In the very next instant, a spell light arced toward his men from one of the roofs in the town. It missed his men completely and Severus swore softly, as much from frustration with the Aurors giving themselves away as from the thought of the battle that his men would now have to engage in. But the conflict did not slow him down. Almost immediately, he stood, shouted orders to his men, and they were off to engage the 'enemy.'

One word was all it took to convey all the way back to his rear guard that they were meeting resistance. Another word told his men that they were to proceed with orders after engaging the threat. A raised hand told his men to push forward, and a touch to his wrist was enough to inform them that they were to do so cautiously and in defensive formation. The battle was met.

Severus strode after his advance and before the rest, confident and dark. He moved from shadow to shadow and reveled in the knowledge that he moved unseen. He scanned the field before him as the night lit up with spell light from seemingly every direction. So many possibilities … there were so many possibilities to him. He could see it clearly from where he stalked toward the town. If he ordered his men to the right, behind the cover of the horse stalls but with the advantage of higher ground, he could turn the tide of the battle against the Order and the Aurors. He could order his men to the left, through the main road and it would be a slaughter no matter the skill of his Death Eaters. Or, he could order his men to stand and fight from the border, moving forward only as they made progress. Then, nobody would win, nobody would lose and Severus would be able to say that he had done his best and it would only be a small lie. Someone must have warned the Order, my Lord. Severus let out a bark of laughter as he strode out of the shadows. Today was a good day.

Avery looked over as his commander came out of the forest. "Commander!" he called. "We're experiencing resistance from 3 o'clock level 2, 9 o'clock level 1, and 11 levels 1 and 2." Severus nodded and erected a shield around himself and three of his soldiers, Avery included, as a spell shot out from the nearest building.

"Rogers! Benning! Forward and right. Disable that shooter!" The two soldiers obeyed instantly, and Severus left Avery and Logan behind to push the line forward. "Forward Serpentine," he called to his advance guard. It wouldn't do to leave without the fight that everyone was expecting after all.

From Avery's left, Bella called out, "I love a man that grins when he fights," and then she jumped out from behind her cover and practically skipped to fall in line behind Severus, a wide smile on her face as well.

Avery and Logan shook their heads with a smile. "I think she wants to marry him and not Rodolphus," Logan whispered conspiratorially as they too slipped out and ran forward.

When they made it to their next cover, Avery shook his head. "It'd never work."

"No?"

"No. They'd kill each other before they could consummate the marriage," he laughed. Logan grinned and the two set their wands against their prey.

Severus pushed forward with single-minded determination. He could see that they would fail in their objective this way. The Aurors were too hidden; their cover too good for them to break through from this position. But that didn't mean that they would be wiped away either. Some of the Order's wards would fall. That would leave them scrambling to erect new ones or dive behind the safety of the stronger wards. That, in turn, would allow his men to push forward into the town proper where they would find that all the buildings had been evacuated. When his men and women discovered this, he would push forward only a little further, as though determined to at least take a few of the resistance with him. And he likely would. But pushing forward would also lose him some of his own men. At every step of the way, he would see possibilities to sway the war decidedly in one way or the other as he always did. And he would ignore them all.

And that's how it happened. The Death Eaters pushed into the town as Severus and Avery pushed through the outer wards, and Bella covered them. Logan led his team into the outer buildings, failing to find a single person. Severus forced his men forward, moving the line foot by foot until they could see the town square from their positions. Now, he just needed an incontrovertible reason for pulling out and a way to save face for his Death Eaters in this battle.

He scanned the square as he threw out curses. Some connected, but they weren't lethal. There were Muggle cars parked on the road although he knew for a fact that this village was entirely wizard. Hmm.

Grinning, he stepped forward and left his cover behind. The Death Eaters around him jumped up and offered cover fire as they had been taught to … as he had taught them to. Darting forward in a serpentine pattern to avoid being cursed, he threw himself behind a large oak tree in front of a building that Logan's team had just cleared. He looked back to see that his people were under heavy fire. Now was his chance. He let his wand snake around the tree and took aim at the gas tank of the nearest car.

Seconds later, the Death Eaters and Order members jumped back from the shock of a car exploding in the center of the town. Severus jerked back from the flying debris and burning heat and leaned out from the other side of the tree. Before any of the fighters could recover from their shock, he blew up a car even closer to the Death Eaters. This time he ducked too late, and a bolt hit his mask right between the eyes, cracking it and cutting the skin beneath.

"Damn," he swore as he stood up and ran back to his line. "They've planted bombs," he panted when he got back to the line. Bella looked at him with confusion, and Severus had to stifle a laugh at the look on her face. Silly chit had never heard of a car bomb.

McGill, on the other hand, groaned. "What? They been learning from the Irish?" he asked.

Severus turned away and smiled. Thank you, Irish car bombs, he thought. For the rest, he heaved a sigh. When he turned around, his face showed only anger. "Avery, pull your men back. Bella, find Logan. He is to Apparate away immediately with his men. Go!" he shouted.

Bella jumped up, and Severus covered her and Avery's retreat. When Avery made it back to the rear guard, he called out "Retreat," and his own guard moved backward at the pace of the slowest, firing as they went to offer cover. When the last of his men had Apparated away, he allowed himself one last look at the town. Buildings were burning and there were only three bodies lying in the streets, none of which wore Death Eater insignia. Smiling ruefully, he Apparated away to report to his 'master'.

-oOo-

Albus stood atop the bell tower in Norton and strained his eyes to make out the movement of the Death Eaters in the darkness. It took him only a moment to find the commander. His rank insignia was hard to pick out but a wave of his wand revealed the gray skull with two stripes crossing above it. It was such a dark gray that one had to be fighting in close quarters to see it, unless one was upon a bell tower, casting charms to help sight. Albus watched with curiosity as the man threw himself behind a large oak tree. He tried to make out what the man had planned so he could warn Moody, but before he could discover the man's purpose, a car blew up between him and the opposing commander. As the heat rose to his position, he leaned back. When he could finally see past the smoke and debris, another car exploded, and then the man was running back behind the cover of his forward line. Albus frowned as the Death Eaters began to retreat. The last thing he saw before they were gone completely was the commander standing between the trees of the forest on a hill, looking out over the town. Then he was gone, and Albus let his own eyes wander to what the man had seen before he Disapparated.

The north end of the town lay in ruins. As he scanned the streets, he noticed only three bodies in the streets, all of them Aurors. This night could have been much worse. Not for the first time, he sent a silent thanks to the person who had sent him the warning of this attack. So many could have died tonight if not for their being prepared. And it would have been a large strategic blow in the war effort.

But as these thoughts went through his head, he wondered at the commander of the attacking Death Eaters. Perhaps Riddle was getting desperate. From his vantage point up here, he had been concerned about tonight. There were too many opportunities for a clever commander to break through, even though the town had been warned in advance, no matter what Moody said on the matter. No doubt the scarred Auror would be crowing and fit for a party now, but Albus stayed in his position and stroked his beard in thought.

He had seen many battles with the Death Eaters and heard many intelligence reports on their organization. He didn't believe that they were all that useful but every single one of them agreed on a few facts, one of which was that there were only two captains and four lieutenants. The commander of this operation had clearly been a lieutenant if his insignia was any indication, which made him only one of four … one of four of Riddle's most trusted and talented commanders.

He could not imagine Tom sending any but his best for a mission such as this. And there was something familiar about the man's movements, his confidence and style as he strode back and forth across his line, issuing commands and engaging the Order. It brought to mind several other battles that Albus had taken part in, back when the Order and the Ministry had been far less successful than they had been recently. He searched his mind for the memory but couldn't place it. He didn't even know why it bothered him, but deep down he knew that this lieutenant was far more competent than he had shown tonight. Albus rose from his position, cursing the cold that had settled in his joints. He had an appointment with his pensieve tonight.

Dark Lord's Camp

"Someone must have warned the Order, my Lord," Severus ground out between clenched teeth as he knelt before the Dark Lord. His anger was palpable. The other three lieutenants were already gathered around the throne and the two captains stood beside the Dark Lord himself.

"Rise, young Severus," Voldemort said. Severus did so at once, throwing off his subservience as though it were merely a cloak as he had always done before his 'Lord'. He met the Dark Lord's eyes.

"And so you believe we have a traitor?" Voldemort questioned.

"We must!" Severus spat. "How else could they have been so prepared? The buildings were empty, I tell you!"

"Calm yourself, Severus," Lucius said from the side. The Malfoy heir enjoyed the rank of captain even though he was too valuable to use in battle. He ran the other side of the war: the war of deceit.

Severus took a deep breath. To all in the room, it looked as though Severus was prepared to go out into the camps, find the traitor by torture if that's what it took, and kill him personally. He was one big walking glare, and the anger seemed to crackle around him with dark energy. But deep inside where even the Dark Lord could not tread, there was a party in his brain, complete with raucous laughter.

"I would sooner slit my own throat than stand in the presence of a spy!" he spat.

"Severusss," the Dark Lord hissed. That one word was enough to stop him in his tracks. He bowed his head.

"I apologize, my Lord," he mumbled from behind his hair.

"It is not you that will be sorry, my Snake," Voldemort said with fondness, though Severus knew it to be false. Then the Dark Lord swept his arm out. "I charge you all to find this traitor and bring him to me alive. Severus, I will give this fool to you when we have him. I know that you will do what is best with him. And you will do so before all of my hosts," Voldemort said with a sickening smile.

Severus allowed his own smile to form, and it was one that would send a chill down the backs of all but the Dark Lord's inner circle. "It will be a pleasure, my Lord," he said as he swept a low bow to Voldemort.

Dover

When Severus finally made it home that night, he dropped into his chair and stared at the empty fire grate for a long time. "I am doing the right thing. I am a weapon now, and weapons do not have doubt. They do not have fear," he whispered the last sentence to himself softly. But if that was the case, why did it hurt so much that his men had been injured in this battle? Why did he want to cry out as he bandaged their wounds? Why did the terror of discovery claw at his heart? There were no answers in the cold hearth.

Hogwarts

Albus sat at his desk and stared at the pensieve for several moments. He had just dumped his memories of several battles in there, along with the most recent, but he had yet to delve into them. Why did he delay? What did he think he would find there? The truth was, there was likely nothing to be found except perhaps learning a little more about how one of his enemies fought. That was, of course, a good enough reason. With that thought, he dipped his wand into the pensieve and dove into his own memories.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: My thanks to fussbudget for beta-ing this story!

(edited 10-Oct-2007)