Severus Snape

While there were many dangerous creatures and monsters in the magical world, Severus knew the truth, there was no animal on the face of this earth that was a fraction as dangerous as a delusional man who held power. And Voldemort, well he held far more power than the Potions master would like to admit. It was what made the Dark Lord truly frightening, but there was something far more terrifying than even the likes of Tom Riddle. The Unknown. Things of which there was no explanation for, or even an inkling of how such things came to fruition.

You would think that a man as intellectual and cunning as Severus would be able to avoid being in the midst of these volatile situations, and yet, the poor man seemed to attract trouble at every turn. It was his curse, at least it felt like it was. He had so many regrets about some of the things he had done, but Severus really regretted agreeing to help the Dark Lord summon some kind of creature from a different realm.

The fact that Voldemort couldn’t tell him just who or what they were summoning was unsettling to say the least, Severus doubted that the man himself didn’t even know what he was meddling with.

Which is where he found himself now in the basement of the Malfoy estate, standing in a darkened room in front of a large boiling cauldron with the Dark Lord and a dozen of his most loyal servants, the Death Eaters who were murmuring dark enchantments underneath their breaths. The ritual called for the sacrifice of a living human, and Voldemort had taken the opportunity to capture a very unfortunate muggle from a nearby city. The bound and gagged muggle was being held over the cauldron of which Severus was stirring.

Severus couldn’t look at the muggle who was thrashing against Barty Crouch, the Death Eater who had grabbed a fistful of their hair to force them into a kneeling position over the edge of the cast iron pot. The acidic scent of viper venom and ammonia stung Severus’s eyes as the steam rose from the churning indigo potion he was tending to, he refused to look away from the Dark Lord who was standing beside him poor muggle with a dagger in one hand and the musty old tome in which he found this vile ritual in the first place.

“Veteres, oblitos deos, exsules chaos, omniaque coelestia mundi videntes, omnesque ignaros aevi prophetas invoco.” Voldemort chanted as he read from the rotting pages, his withered and pale hands grasping the leather binding with an unsettling intensity. Severus could have sworn the book was bound in flesh, but he quickly shoved that idea out of his head.

He couldn’t think about what he was actually doing here, for if he did, he would not make it through this alive because he would put a stop before it was too late… but it he already crossed the point of no return long ago.

Severus watched the dark lord raise the blade to the muggle’s throat, the terrified person squirmed in terror and cried. “Hoc vas in sacrificium offero vi promissionis primogeniturae. ut verum sit precor. Sanguis pro sanguine, oculus pro oculo, anima pro anima. verum esse posco.” Voldemort hissed as he spoke the final word and flicked his wrist in one fell swoop. His dagger struck true and the muggles throat was slit wide open, a torental flood of dark crimson flowed from the gaping wound and directly into the cauldron.

The muggle thrashed against the ropes and made this muffled gurgling sound which twisted Severus’s stomach into knots, yet he kept his face perfectly straight, never once breaking his mask of indifference even as the muggle’s blood spilled all over his trembling hands as he stirred the cauldron. The dark lord chuckled in the back of his throat as he peered over Severus’s shoulder into the swirling indigo and crimson potion with a sickening grin.

According to the book, the potion was supposed to glow a bright purple, it wasn’t doing anything but making Severus want to vomit all over his own shoes. Barty held up the muggles body until they went limp and the light left their eyes, then he simply casted their corpse aside like it had been nothing but yesterday’s garbage. The dark lord grew impatient, he wanted instant results of course, so when the cauldron remained the same, he decided to blame Severus for the discrepancy of course.

“It’s not working… you must have forgotten something, Severus.” Voldemort seethed and the potions master simply closed his eyes and shook his head as he couldn’t look at his hands or anything else since the blood had splattered quite messily on the floor. “I don’t see how that is possible, My Lord. You handed me each ingredient yourself.” Severus retorted sharper than he meant and the Dark lord narrowed his eyes at him. “Did I now? Well then. Perhaps I should hand you your death sentence for this defiance!” Voldemort seethed but Severus wasn’t paying him any attention.

Severus was far more focused on the Muggles corpse as it’s eyes had started to glow instead of the cauldron and the body had ever so slowly been dragged out of the firelight and into the shadows by black inky hands which appeared to be made out of the darkness themselves. He had Never seen anything as downright terrifying before and it left him frozen on the spot. Voldemort had noticed that Severus was looking over his shoulder and he turned around just in time to see the corpse’s foot disappear into the shadows.

And yet, where anyone with any kind of common sense would have turned and ran, Voldemort was delusional enough to approach the shadows which had started to close in around them. “Who have i summoned!? I demand to see your face!” Voldemort called out, raising his wand and dropping the bloody dagger to the stone floor. All of the Death Eaters, Barty included, had started to retreat away from the bloody scene as the sound of whispering started to grow louder. Just then, from out of the darkness, a figure began to emerge and Severus felt his heart drop in his chest as it’s piercing eyes immediately locked onto him.