Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Much Ado About Nothing	By : goblet Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2534 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
by The Goblet

Chapter 35

Three days later, Severus was still at Wilkes' Manor. He had been busy brewing potions for his new Lord. His left forearm was bandaged with a white gauze dressing as the Dark Mark, which now adorned his left arm, had begun to weep as it healed.

Normally the Dark Lord, his Lord, would not have allowed any of his followers to hide the mark from view or aid its healing process, but he understood that Severus could not allow any of the liquid to contaminate his potions, so he allowed Severus the privilege of the bandage, and a mild healing potion.

Severus was in the library that Tuesday afternoon, researching the effects of substituting newt's legs for newt's tail in a potion, when he was interrupted by the arrival of the LeStrange brothers.

From his vantage point, Severus could see the brothers approaching the Dark Lord through the open doors connecting the library to the formal lounge room. Voldemort was sitting by the fireplace, slightly out of Severus' line of sight, but close enough to the doors that the young Potions Master could hear every word that was spoken.

Severus watched as Rodolphus got to his knees as he approached the Dark Lord and kissed his boots. He then backed away, still on his knees and waited for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to speak.

Voldemort picked up a small bell and summoned a house-elf. "Go fetch Mr Black," he instructed the small creature as Rodolphus pulled his brother to the floor to kneel before him.

Within a few minutes, Regulus Black joined the LeStrange brothers. He, too, kissed the Dark Lord's boots before kneeling beside his friends.

"Tell me about Ssseverus," Voldemort instructed. "Tell me about his… liaisons with the half-blood."

Regulus bowed his head in respect before responding. "He was trapped into marrying a half-blood Gryffindor. My brother 'arranged' the marriage."

"We did not think that it was right, a pure-blooded Slytherin being forced into a marriage with a half-blood. So we tried to sabotage the wedding," continued Rabastan.

"We convinced the half-blood that my brother had feelings for Severus, and was courting him for himself," Regulus added.

"But Sirius Black was able to convince the half-blood to marry Severus, and persuaded Severus to marry the half-blood," Rabastan said.

"Which was when I came onto the scene and we upped the stakes," Rodolphus stated. "Severus couldn't have possibly wanted to marry the half-blood, so we made sure that the half-blood wouldn't marry him. We believed Black was holding something on Severus."

The Dark Lord was silent for several, long minutes before speaking. "I am very disappointed in you," he said very, very quietly, forcing the trio to listen.

"Firstly: you never once spoke to Severus regarding this marriage. You assumed that he had been fooled into marrying the half-blood, when it was actually the half-blood who had been fooled into marrying Severus. If you had bothered to speak to Severus before you concocted your plan, he would have informed you to leave the situation as it stood.

"Secondly: you boasted about your scheme in a public place, where, not only were you overheard but also caught. I will not be having any of my supporters going around with loose lips or blabbing mouths.

"Thirdly: you have ruined any trust that Albus Dumbledore had in Severus. All his years of working to get close to the man have been wasted."

Voldemort rang his house-elf summoning-bell once more, and handed a note to the creature that appeared. When the house-elf had vanished, he turned to his three followers and glared at them. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Rodolphus immediately dropped to the floor and lay spread-eagled and face down in front of the Dark Lord. Regulus and Rabastan followed suit a split second later.

"We are sorry, my Lord," Regulus said as spokesperson.

"We didn't mean to kill him," added Rabastan.

"Kill him?" asked Voldemort, confused. Word had not reached his ears of Severus' supposed death. The Dark Lord had only received word of his unfortunate wedding ceremony.

"When the half-blood accused Severus of sleeping around, and ruined his reputation, he took his own life," Rodolphus explained.

"We have spent the last three days trying to clean the blood off the pavement under the Astronomy Tower," Rabastan added.

"Blood?" asked Voldemort.

"Severus jumped from the Astronomy tower the night of the wedding. Ludicrous of him, if you ask me," Rodolphus mumbled into the floor. He stopped for a moment as he thought about Severus' reasons for jumping. He heard a door open and the close behind him.

"He should have known that you would not blame him for his failure," Rodolphus added, fairly certain now that he had royally screwed up one of his Master's plans.

"Indeed," Voldemort agreed. "How did you know it was Severus' blood?"

"How could we not?" answered Rabastan. "The entire village is talking of it. We were told of his death during our interrogation, and the Headmaster explained how he died later, and that we would be cleaning his blood out of the stone as our punishment.

"The half-blood is beside himself, he wants his fianc� back. He would do anything to take it all back."

"And your only punishment was to remove blood from stone?" the Dark Lord asked.

"Yes, my Lord," Rodolphus answered.

Voldemort beckoned the newcomer forward to stand by his chair. "On your knees," he commanded the three spread out before him.

They quickly moved backwards and got to their knees, their heads still bowed looking at the floor, and not at their Lord.

"Look at me!" hissed Voldemort.

The three boys looked up and saw not only the Dark Lord, but Severus, standing beside him.

"Y-Y-You're dead!" stammered Rabastan.

"We scraped your brains off the castle ourselves!" cried Rodolphus.

"Hardly," Severus replied. He was holding three vials of a milky white potion on a tray.

"Why would I commit suicide over a half-blood?" he sneered. He did not want to let on that he had overheard their earlier remarks about killing himself for other reasons. In truth, and left to his own devices, he may, very well have killed himself over Remus.

The Dark Lord turned to Severus. "How did everyone come to think of you as dead?" he asked.

Severus bowed his head before answering the man. "My Lord, I have previously informed you of the trust the Headmaster bestows in my character. He was not fooled by the lies spread by my doppelganger's actions the night before. He believed that if it was widely known that I had suicided, that the guilty parties would make themselves known. He also surmised that the action would turn Lupin's anger into regret. I see the ruse has worked on all fronts.

"I would assume that the remains that these men were forced to clean were actually the remains of a roast lamb."

Severus bowed deeply once more. "You have, as one of your followers, a dead man. The world thinks I am dead. This has many advantages."

The Dark Lord was silent for a long moment. He turned to the three men. "If Severus was to return, would they have him back?" he asked.

The LeStrange brothers nodded enthusiastically.

"Severus, your offer of a 'dead' follower is most appealing. However, no matter how tempting I find this gift, it is not one I would accept in lieu of a man close to Dumbledore. I believe it is best that you return to Hogwarts and complete whatever plan it is that he has in mind for you. Marry the half-blood if necessary, and keep close in their circle."

"Yes, my Lord," replied Severus, bowing once more.

Voldemort turned his attention once more to the men kneeling before him. "There is still the matter of punishment to discuss," he said sternly.

"I cannot emphasize how important secrets are. How important it is not to speak of our plans in the presence of those who are not loyal to our cause.

"As punishment for your foolishness, you will not have the use of your mouths for two days. That is no talking, no eating, no drinking. You will learn to keep your large mouths shut."

The Dark Lord turned to Severus. "The potion," he stated.

Severus held out the silver tray to each man and waited patiently until they had taken a vial each.

"Swallow!" the Dark Lord commanded.

The three men unstoppered their vials and ingested the milky contents in one gulp. As soon as they had swallowed the mixture, their lips began to join and their mouths began to grow over with skin.

Soon the three men were looking rather strange as they had nothing on their face to separate their nose from their chins.

"Perfect," the Dark Lord announced. "Your work is of an excellent standard, Severus."

Severus bowed. "Thank you, my Lord. I hoped my brew would meet your high standards."

Voldemort smiled softly at the Potions Master, and then turned back towards those being punished.

"That being said and done, I would like to congratulate you boys on a job well done. Obviously you need to work on keeping your mouths shut and remembering to check with me first, but your groundwork and your execution was admirable. Once Severus' little potion has worn off, we will discuss the option of a more formal declaration of loyalty to our cause.

"No, not you, Rodolphus, you have already accepted my Mark."

The Dark Lord clapped his hands together. "Now, tell me, which one of you called Aberforth Dumbledore an ass?" he asked gleefully.

Rabastan tentatively put his hand up.

"Wonderful, just wonderful!" Voldemort exclaimed.

tbc...

Feedback very welcome!
- 35
- 36
- 37
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Much Ado About Nothing