Path of the serpent 36

[ejab62.livejournal.com]

Title: Path of the serpent
Author: ejab
E-mail: ejab@keyaccess.nl
Pairing: SS/LM with a little SS/RL and SS/DM on the side.
Rating: story is NC-17.
Feedback: a true gift and highly appreciated.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling still owns them. Wish I did.
WARNING: if you are blessed with a vivid imagination, I suggest you do not eat and
read this chapter at the same time...
Category: all over the place.
Summary: a high price to pay for 'kindness'. Especially when it concerns Voldemort.
A/N: everlasting gratitude for my betas underlucius and silentpawz.
We're nearly at the end of this story! I think I see a sequel coming... ?


36/37

"By the way, Albus... I've heard some rather amusing rumours," Minerva chuckled, while swirling the tea around in her cup playfully.

"Oh? Do tell." The Headmaster looked up with interest. An occasional good gossip was a nice way to take one's mind off of the more serious matters of the day and yes, even he liked to participate in it every now or then. A secret he discreetly shared with Minerva on a regular basis that only added to the relaxed evenings they shared from time to time.

"Rumour has it that Severus actually fainted during his ceremony. You were there so tell me, is it true?" The Gryffindor Head of House was not quite able to suppress a look of glee.

"Unfortunately it is." Dumbledore sadly shook his head. "And I blame myself for it. Partly, anyway."

"Why, for Merlin's sake?"

"I knew he was making some last minute changes to the potion. I also knew how obsessed he was with getting that title so I should have known. Severus tends to forget the world around him when he is like that. And he certainly forgets to pay any attention to himself."

The Headmaster stood up and walked to the window. He stared out into the night for a minute without speaking.

"When I questioned him about it afterwards, I learned that he had not been sleeping or eating for two days in a row. Add that to the pressure he felt... " A closer look outside told him that the subject of their conversation apparently had been summoned; the potions master hastily walked to the edge of the grounds. After all these years with this dark mystery, Dumbledore could tell from the way Severus walked that it was the call of the Dark Lord that had brought him out of his dungeons. His stride always displayed a certain tension when that happened. The Headmaster turned around, worried.

"Oh dear, the poor man," Minerva sighed. She really did try to sound and look sympathetic but knew she was not fooling her long time friend. "Yes, well..."

Albus stared at the fluffy slippers Minerva was wearing for a moment and seated himself again. "That is about the only positive aspect about his upcoming marriage; Lucius will certainly see to it that he eats and sleeps well..."

"Ah yes, the marriage. The day after tomorrow, isn't it? I still don't know what to wear. What do you think? Should I wear my...."


Unaware that he was the subject of conversation at this very moment, Severus Apparated and, almost instantly, found himself in a small hallway. It looked as if he was in the same house as before. That was confirmed when Peter Pettigrew, nervous as ever, appeared and silently gestured him to follow. He brought him to the same room as before. Immediately Severus kneeled down and paid his respects to the Dark Lord. While getting back up on his feet, he couldn't help but notice that the Dark Lord seemed to be in an extremely foul mood today. A sickening feeling swept over him as he lifted up his face to meet those red penetrating eyes.

"The new Grandmaster of Potions," Voldemort sneered coldly. "Well well..." He slowly rose from his seat in an almost threatening manner. "Helping werewolves now, Severus? Turned into a benefactor, have you?"

Severus remained silent. Contradicting the Dark Lord would not be a wise thing to do. He knew better than to even attempt to deny the accusation.

"I am extremely disappointed in you, Severus. Explain yourself. And you'd better make it good."

"I was requested by the Headmaster to make it. Refusing was not an option. I am a Potions master and to refuse would make him extremely suspicious of me, My Lord."

"You could have 'failed'..." The Dark Lord gave him a daring look. Then he smirked. "But you did not want to fail, am I right? Ambitious as you are. I do understand about ambition, Severus. I even appreciate it. But not when it - ah well, you get the idea."

Severus bowed his head, knowing that whatever he might say would not make any difference.
Undoubtedly a Cruciatus would follow next. He swallowed and tensed more and more with every passing second. What was the Dark Lord waiting for?

"Grandmaster of Potions," Voldemort drawled. "Well, you have your desired title now so there really is no further use for your delicate hands. Unless I am mistaken?"

The addition was a provocation. The Dark Lord knew he would be nothing without them. Absolutely nothing. No longer able to hide his fear, Severus quickly looked up in disbelief.
This time Voldemort did not speak. He just smiled. And at that moment the potions master knew he would get the lesson of a lifetime. Cruciatus could only be considered a blessing compared to what was in store for him now.

The Dark Lord pointed his wand and mumbled a short spell. Immediately countless tiny bubbles appeared beneath the flesh of the back of both his hands. Then they slowly started to move all over his fingers and hands, causing excruciating sensations everywhere they went. Severus screamed in horror when he heard the unmistakable sound of breaking bones. More pain came. Out-of-this-world kind of pain. Followed by a frightful loss of sensation in his hands. Severus screamed again, almost not able to register what he saw happening right before his very own eyes; the bones in his fingers and hands dissolved and left nothing but pale, flaccid laps of skin. He howled in absolute horror, falling to his knees and weeping hysterically.

"Too horrible to watch, Severus? Allow me to take care of that." The Dark Lord stared stoically down at the desperate man on the ground in front of him and mumbled another spell.
Severus gasped for breath when he felt the piercing pain burning behind his eyes, rapidly followed by the most unbearable pressure. It pushed his eye-balls forward. Out of his skull, it seemed. Warm fluid glided over his cheeks and he tasted blood. If he had been weeping before, it was nothing compared to the crying he did now. In a desperate attempt to keep his eyes in his skull, Severus tried to press his hands against his eyes. Only to realise he had no more hands left to do it with. Panic took over completely. He literally threw himself before his Master's feet, forgetting all about pride or dignity. They did not exist at this point. Salvation of his hands and eyes was all that mattered now. He was worthless without them and only death would be kinder.

"Please, Master, please! Oh gods, no! Please! Stop!"

"Begging again, Severus? And this is the best you can do?" The Dark Lord sounded revoltingly triumphant, clearly very, very pleased with himself.

Severus did not hesitate for even one second. He immediately crawled closer and started to kiss every inch of the hem of Voldemort's robe. With a passion. At this point he would have sold out on his marriage or Lucius all together, just to be healed again. Loyalty now was a luxury he could not afford.

"Yes, it is rather enchanting to see you crawl and beg," the Dark Lord grinned, stepping back a bit. Severus froze, terrified his actions actually had made things worse.

"Do I have your word that, from this moment on, you will ask my permission first before you brew any new potion? Regardless of its use?" Voldemort asked in a deceivingly kind voice.

"You have my word! Please, Master! Stop this!" Severus begged once more.

"You are extremely willing to please me now, aren't you, Severus?" It was not a question.

"I am, My Lord. I always am," came the soft reply.

"Very well." Words were mumbled again and Severus soon felt the pain leave both his hands and eyes. There even was a disgustingly sucking sound to be heard before his eyes popped back into their sockets. He hardly dared to look but after finding the courage to open his eyes, Severus knew he had his eyesight back again. As well as his beloved priceless hands.

'Thank you, My Lord! Thank you!" Afraid of pushing his luck, he remained lying where he was.

"Time to repay me for my kindness, Severus. Stand up and undress yourself." Voldemort gave him a bored look and walked back to his chair. He sat down again. "Slowly."

Severus obeyed with trembling hands. He was beyond humiliation at this point.

"Skinny and scarred. The scars I like. Now touch yourself."

Again Severus did as he was told. Even though he knew he could not deliver what the Dark Lord was really requesting of him; there was no way he would be able to get an erection now.

"What's the matter, Severus? Am I not stimulating company?" Voldemort grumbled, all the while stroking his own freed cock, which was growing rapidly.

Severus recognised the warning, hidden as it was, and tried harder. He closed his eyes, fantasising about Lucius, but the best result was still nothing. Damn.

"Oh, stop it, you pathetic fool." After a few more awkward minutes for Severus, the Dark Lord impatiently gestured him to stop. Then he stood, undressed himself as well and changed the chair he'd been sitting in into a large bed.

"You better start pleasing me exceptionally well, Severus, for I am swiftly running out of patience with you." With those ominous words, Voldemort sat down on the bed, demanding the potions master to join him.

For Severus it meant the worst night of his life. He could deal with being raped but he found it nearly impossible to deal with the fact that he was forced into becoming an active participant.
To actually have to do things to give the Dark Lord an erection (so he could then brutally rape Severus) again and again; that made him feel incredibly filthy and loathsome.
Getting raped was easier because it only demanded his physical presence while his mind could shut out the world around him and fly away to other, better places. But having to participate meant staying focused and paying attention. To be there in the here and now. It was an experience beyond even his worst imagination.

By the break of dawn he seemed to have been able to please his Master enough though, if the fact that he was permitted to live and leave was anything to go by.

He hastily Apparated back and immediately locked himself up in his dungeons. Without wasting a second, Severus started stripping the moment he stepped into his quarters and went directly for the bathroom. He then carefully lowered himself in the warm soothing water of his bath and feverishly began scrubbing every inch of his skin, time and time again. It didn't matter that he occasionally scrubbed flesh off, colouring the water redder and redder by the minute. He even went as far as giving himself numerous painful enemas. Anything to blot out any remaining substance, feeling or smell that reminded of Him. It also didn't matter that it hurt like hell. He didn't care. The pain inside was much worse and blocked the, in his mind only superficial, pain on and in his body.

"It doesn't matter, you know. You will never be able to forget," a sad and all too familiar voice drifted towards him. Severus got a fright and almost jumped out of this bath.

He then shook his head and closed his eyes, somehow afraid now to look at his lover.

"I had a similar reaction but it didn't make any difference - I can still feel him." Lucius slowly kneeled down beside the bath, carefully caressing the face in front of him with his fingertips, as if being afraid the skin would come off otherwise.

"Lucius? How... " Severus finally opened his eyes, reading unspoken compassion, hurt and anger in the other man's eyes.

"I had taken the liberty to wait for you in your sitting room. You obviously were in no state to notice... " Lucius sat down on the edge of the bath, got himself some shampoo and washed the black hairs of his lover thoroughly. He then grabbed a towel and, ignoring the protests it caused, pulled the potions master out of his bath, dried him off and brought him to his bed.

"I can't sleep," Severus protested, ready to get up again. A deadly glare from his future husband however, convinced him that he at least could remain lying down.

"Yes, you will. Drink." Since he by now knew his way around the dungeons as well as at his own house, Lucius had no problem finding a vial with Dreamless Sleep Potion. He sternly handed it to his lover. For once Severus didn't object about being 'mothered and smothered' (as he liked to refer to care) and obediently drank the content.

"Stay with me while I sleep?"

"Of course," Lucius smiled faintly, got on the bed and protectively crossed his arms over the already relaxing body next to his. Within seconds Severus slept. And Lucius was trying to deal with a raging, all-consuming anger towards his Master.

Time passed. Severus slept and Lucius kept to his word and did not leave his side.
Until the wards at the door warned him that someone tried to break through them. He swiftly stood up and made his way to the door, wand ready and extremely vigilant.

"Headmaster... " After opening the door, Lucius greeted Dumbledore with bad grace but still managed to stay polite. "Forgive me but why are you trying to force your way in? I would think that you, of all people, would understand the concept of privacy and have the decency to respect it."

"Believe me, Lucius, I do." The Headmaster deftly wormed himself through the gap. Lucius was clearly not amused but had no other option than to close the door again. Hogwarts was Dumbledore's territory. As much as he wanted to, he could not make him leave; courtesy prohibited that. Instead he turned to face the Headmaster questionably.

"Where is Severus? Is he all right?" Dumbledore looked around worried.

"Why wouldn't he be?" Lucius enquired suspiciously.

"Because Severus and I were supposed to have a meeting almost a hour ago and he never fails to inform me in case of absence," the Headmaster answered smoothly.

"I see." Lucius stared at Dumbledore, still feeling suspicious. "In that case, please allow me to apologise on his behalf. I am afraid he is feeling rather unwell and is now resting. Sleeping, in fact." Meaning 'I will not let you near him now, no matter what'.

The Headmaster understood the hidden message perfectly and nodded reluctantly.

"I understand. Please ask him to report to me as soon as he is able to, will you?"

"Of course." Lucius guided Dumbledore back to the door and out of the dungeons, closing the door with more force than was strictly required. A wordless statement.

He went back to the bedroom and took his place next to his dark angel again, waiting as patiently as he could until his lover would wake up again.
Which was almost four hours later. Remarkable, since a Dreamless Sleep Potion normally knocked a person out for six to eight hours straight. But then again, Severus was anything but average.

"Why were you here this early anyway?" Apparently Severus already had been awake longer than he'd noticed; his voice sounded wide awake.

"I brought you your clothes for the wedding tomorrow and wanted you to fit them." Lucius shifted back a bit so he could look his lover in the face.

"Isn't there some sort of tradition that the groom isn't supposed to see the clothes of his upcoming better half before the wedding ceremony?"

"Don't give me that smart look," Lucius mumbled. "It's a bit late for that now, isn't it? Besides, I wanted to make absolutely sure that you will be wearing only the best of the best and look even more breathtaking than you already do."

"Oh gods, I am marrying a romantic..."

"Hardly. I just want to make sure everybody knows who you belong to and that you are and will be extremely well taken care of," Lucius snorted.

"That's the Lucius I know," Severus chuckled softly. "And to put Lupin's nose out of joint perhaps?"

"That's merely an added bonus."

"Of course." Severus slowly sat up and his stomach rumbled in the process.

"Yes, time for lunch." Lucius stood, called for a house-elf and ordered an extensive lunch.

"Don't bother," his lover grumbled, letting himself fall back again.

"You will eat," his husband-to-be stated matter-of-factly. "Stand up and dress yourself."

"Stop ordering me around, will you?" Severus really felt irritation now and sighed annoyed.

"Only in your dreams. Get up and dress yourself. Now." Telling his lover he only acted that way because he had his best interest at heart would be useless, so Lucius refrained himself from any further explanations and quickly left the bedroom.

Half an hour later they were sharing a impeccably garnished lunch and ate. And as the day progressed, Severus hesitantly started to share his experiences of the last night with his future husband. It was a frightfully disturbing thing to do but he felt this desperate need to talk about it with someone. Preferably with someone who knew him and understood, had gone through it himself. His honesty and remarkable frankness even helped Lucius to finally open up and share his own experiences.

"Can we please change the subject now?" At seven in the evening, Severus decided that enough was enough and made a face.

"It will be my pleasure. How about dinner and then you can fit your clothes? After that I really should go home - there are always some last minute things to take care of." Lucius yawned and stretched himself languidly. "Oh yes, and Draco will be home soon. He will have to fit his clothes as well."

"Stop talking about that. It makes me feel nervous," Severus confessed. Then a thought struck him and he looked up defiantly. "And why dinner? We just ate several hours ago! Are you trying to fatten me?"

"That, my dear Sev, is really a mission impossible."