kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Behind them, floating amongst the twisted trees of the Forest, more substantial than a cloud but not by much, the shade of Lord Voldemort shook with rage.

It was bad enough that the whelp responsible for his current immaterial state was still among the living. It was mortifying to think that the little monster had helped to vanquish him a second time, weakening him so much that he could do nothing more than float above the unicorns, wracking his brains for a way to become corporeal enough to feed off them. But to hear how he had been betrayed by one of his own Death Eaters...! That was the crowning indignity, and one Voldemort swore he would see avenged.

That traitor Snape, not content to be a spy for Dumbledore, was now nursemaiding the very instrument of his sworn Lord's destruction. There was no curse painful enough, no death hideous enough for a betrayal of this magnitude.

Of course, even if there had been, Voldemort himself was in no condition to cast any spells тАУ it took all his power just to cling to this unsatisfying half-life. But he was far from helpless.

"Nagini, my pet," he hissed. "Come to me, my lovely. I have a task for youтАж"

"Yes, master?" the large snake replied, obediently sliding out from its nest in a fallen tree. Magical snakes were not overly affected by the cold, but Nagini still preferred not to venture out in the snowy winter landscape if she could avoid it. The call of her master was powerful, however, and after Voldemort had been forced to leave Quirrel's body, he had Summoned her.

Too weak even to leave the immediate vicinity of Hogwarts, he knew that he needed allies to help him, but in his weakened condition he dared not trust any but his most loyal followers. Unfortunately, Bellatrix Lestrange was still incarcerated in Azkaban тАУ Voldemort was not pleased that her moronic cousin had managed to escape, but Bella, whom he had heretofore considered a most resourceful witch, remained a prisoner of the Dementors. Voldemort consoled himself with the thought that releasing his followers from Azkaban would be one of his first moves when he returned to power, and Bella was already so unhinged that it was unlikely the Dementors had managed to do much to her in the interim.

Peter Pettigrew, while never quite asтАжcommittedтАж as Bellatrix, had nevertheless been a reasonable second choice. He was too cowardly to try anything, even against a Dark Lord too weak even to manifest for a moment. But before Voldemort could manage to Summon the rat from the nearby castle, he had heard of Pettigrew's death from the little Hogwarts brats who played along the edge of the Forest. He hadn't known that Snape, that bastard, had been responsible for the wizard's death, but now that it had been admitted, by Harry Potter no less, Voldemort burned even hotter with the need for revenge.

He couldn't trust any of the Death Eaters still at large, like Lucius Malfoy. The only way Malfoy could have managed to remain a free man was to have renounced the Dark Lord and/or claimed to have been an unwilling puppet all along. While Voldemort might appreciate the man's cunning in taking advantage of Dumbledore's daft tendency to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, that didn't mean he would trust Malfoy, given his current weakness. Lucius was obviously out for his own interests, and if he thought he could exploit the Dark Lord's current situation to his own ends, he would. No, Lucius Malfoy was not someone to rely upon, at least not until Voldemort was in a position to Crucio him into loyalty.

Voldemort gnashed his incorporeal teeth as he thought that, not too long ago, he might have turned to Snape himself as one of his most trustworthy Death Eaters. Had that little idiot not walked right past him, mindlessly boasting of Snape's treachery, Voldemort might never have known the extent of his minion's perfidy. Well, now that he knew, he was going to do something about it.

He would have Snape killed, in a spectacularly brutal and painful fashion, leaving there no doubt in anyone's mind who was responsible. That should put the fear back into those stupid sheep who were the Wizarding public, not to mention some of his less steadfast Death Eaters. With a few more horrific murders, even someone like Lucius Malfoy would think twice before emulating Snape's turncoat behavior.

"Nagini, my strong and fearless one, I have an important task for you. Listen well as I tell you all about the castle Hogwarts, so that you may slip inside and dole out my justice to a filthy traitorтАж"

TBCтАж

*Chapter 50*: Chapter 50

Snape was absently marking papers and wondering what else he could do about the Parkinson girl. It was more than halfway through the term, and she remained abstracted. Her grades were marginal and the prefects had noted that although they were trying to keep a close watch over her, she was beginning to slip off to some hidey hole they had thus far been unable to locate. He had left instructions that she be sent to him when she next surfaced тАУ it was time to see if Poppy could find some answers.

Perhaps the mind-healers he planned to take Harry to see should consult on Parkinson as well. Snape sighed and wondered if he was responsible for both children's incipient breakdowns. He was, after all, in charge of both of them, and so far this year no other first years had showed similar difficulties adjusting to school life.

What else could or should he be doing? And why didn't the other Heads seem to have these problems? Did he drive his snakes too hard? He heard a creak and glanced up. "Harry?"

There was no answering shout, and with a shake of his head, he returned to his papers. Just when he thought he had seen all the possible permutations of wrong answers, his students came up with some new idiocy. Why did he do this to himself? Other Potion Masters only had to worry about blowing themselves up while experimenting with new draughts; they didn't have to prevent a classful of willfully ignorant dunderheads from blowing up or poisoning each other, let alone act in loco parentis for the spotty, moody creatures. He really needed to rethink his career plans.

Another noise had him looking up sharply. "Harry? Is that you?"

Silence.

He glanced at the time and frowned. The brat should be back from the Forest soon. At this time of year, it grew dark early, and surely even Hagrid wouldn't be so half-witted as to be out in the Forest with a first year after sunset. Even as the thought occurred to him, his mind filled with images of the plethora of Dark creatures that roamed the Forest at night and would be all too happy to snack on a Wizarding child.

Distracted as he was, he nearly missed the strange slithery noise behind him. He surged upright, his hand snatching for his wand, but tight coils encircled him with such breathtaking speed that he was trapped in his chair, his legs bound together, his arms pinned against his body, before he could complete the motion. He coudn't even manage to cry out as the bands immediately grew so tight that he could only take shallow breaths. He twisted his head trying to see what had so completely incapacitated him with such stunning speed.

"Sssssso, you are the faithlessss traitor my master ssssent me to kill. Ssssslowly."

The hissing in his ear nearly made his heart stop. He remembered that sound all too well, though it had been a decade since he had heard it last. Nagini, he thought frantically, but howтАж?

He tried to imagine what wandless spells might prove useful but then the enormous serpent lowered her head and he choked as he felt her tongue flicker against his carotid artery. "Evil ssspy," Nagini crooned, lightly drawing her fangs down the rapidly pulsing blood vessel. "You will die in agony for the wrongs you have done my master."

Snape had no idea what the snake was saying, but the low hissing, coupled with the lightly raking fangs, made it clear that this was not a social call. He closed his eyes, trying not to imagine the hideous pain her corrosive venom would cause.