Chill, 10 September 1997

[augury_npc]

Who: Severus Snape, Lord Voldemort
What: Dementors at home
Where: deep within the Forbidden Forest
When: early morning, 10 September
Status: Complete

Comments

[augury_npc]

Lord Voldemort inhaled deeply, his chin raised and eyes half-shut in satisfaction. "They will spill onto the grounds of Hogwarts amidst fog and mist, and bring with them the smell of Darkness."

The dementors' cloaks rustled once as they settled in a neat ring, not close enough to affect Severus's mind too baldly, but enough that he would not forget they surrounded him. The sound was startling after their distinctive silence. The Dark Lord opened his eyes and surveyed them once, then raised his hand and flicked his fingers, Go.

They retreated, leaving the atmosphere cold but somehow cleaner.

"I wish you to manage this place for me, Severus. There is much I must attend to over the next few days, and our indefinite allies here must be contained till they are led to their destination." He paused, debating whether to reveal his other plans to Severus, but there was never really a doubt- the Dark Lord guarded his strategies jealously.

"There is a Potions laboratory here beyond any you may have imagined, and all the subjects you could need for continuing your work on what I asked of you in August."

The Dark Lord leaned forward a little, speaking in with greater animation than was usually his wont. "There is also a greenhouse inside the House." He gestured slightly toward the building at his back. "The mandrakes here are a flesh-eating variety a friend of mine developed a long while ago," said Voldemort, the hint of a laugh in his voice, "and the Venomous Tentacula breeds off the heat from much of their digestive processes."

"And finally," he said, a crease appearing on his brow, "You need not brew any more Wolfsbane- Fenrir does not seem to appreciate the ease of a Wolfsbane-assisted transformation." He slapped his hand absently against his leg, and looked at Severus. "How can he not desire the added control?"

[augury_s_snape]

Severus breathed a little easier as the shadowy forms merged back into the black of the forest. He glanced about him, impressed at the seemingly self-sustaining eco system that had been created. Parts of it had clearly over-run, would require harvesting, drying, crushing and all manner of dull but necessary processes to bring them to a useful point. The presence of the Dementors was a little more unnerving, but clearly necessary.

"There are wards here already, My Lord, I can feel them. If you require some added strength to their containment, I would be happy to oblige."

Severus noticed the dark, looming house, the only building not ruined. It must pre-date the forest, he thought. Perhaps an out-building for the school? Perhaps even owned by a retainer, with the remnants of his potions garden surrounding. He could not help the twitch of his lips into a smile at the mention of their previous conversation. "I cannot pretend that the assignment you have set me does not fill me with a little trepidation, My Lord -- but it is a relief to be researching, and breaking new ground once more. I confess I missed this role, while at Hogwarts."

He smirked at the mention of Greyback. "Most werewolves like to at least pretend they are pure wizards. Greyback," he sneered around teh name, "Does not even possess that quality. I can't say I'm surprised."

[augury_npc]

Lord Voldemort half-nodded and sniffed assent, dismissed the subject and turned around to walk slowly toward the open door. He had come back outside only to speak with Severus in the presence of the dementors- to show them to him. "Walk with me, Severus," he said now.

"I wish for my endeavour at Hogwarts to proceed smoothly. Tell me about the Floo connections inside. All Prefects know that the Headmaster's office has one, as have several of the teachers' offices, and that one cannot enter or exit from them," he considered aloud. "But there are exceptions- they can be connected to the Floo network. How and when?" he asked Severus. "What would Minerva McGonagall need to do to have her office connected to the network?"

[augury_s_snape]

Endeavor? Severus thought with an alarm that was swiftly repressed, his blank facial mask never shifting from its steady, contemplative gaze at the forest floor as they moved towards the shadowy building. In the very depths of his mind, well hidden from prying Occlumens, Severus began to wonder how long the Dark Lord would keep him, how long it would take Him to act at Hogwarts, and whether he would be able to prevent it.

This did not stop his consideration of the Dark Lord's question. Many another skilled Occlumens might try to lie, for the sake of lying -- but Severus had always found honesty, where largely safe, was the best direction in which to head. "It would require an application to the Ministry, My Lord. It is not a piece of magic she could perform herself, certainly not from within the castle." It struck him, almost by surprise, that when His Lord referred to Minerva's office, he meant the headmaster's office. Being away from Hogwarts, it was difficult to reconcile the fact that not all had remained as it was. He wondered if Albus' portrait already hung over the desk, or if it had to be commissioned first -- he had never really understood the magics behind it. "It is not certain in that office though, My Lord. The magics are slightly different. I believe Dumbledore used to floo into it, but I never knew him to leave that way. It may be that it only recognises the Head, or that there is only an incoming connection."

[augury_npc]

The Dark Lord tapped one finger against his lips, humming slightly at the door with narrowed eyes. Voldemort did not turn to look at Severus, and certainly had not the slightest suspicion of his Death Eater's alarm.

It suited him very well if McGonagall could not convert the floos into an escape route easily- he'd have to make sure someone at the Ministry verified that. Whom to send?

If only Narcissa Malfoy were inclined . . . But that was of no use. She was not. Pennyworth, perhaps? He was young, perhaps too young for subtlety, but he worshipped the memory of Augustus Rookwood, at least tried to emulate those who had done the greatest good to Lord Voldemort in days gone by, even if he was not always successful. Yes, he would send Pennyworth. After a further moment of consideration, rousing himself, he did turn. "Come in."

He touched the door; it swung open. "Come in and tell me about dementors, Severus. What have you discovered?"

[augury_s_snape]

Severus inclined his head, waiting for His Lord to lead the way through the old and roughly-made door. Following in His wake, Severus raised his head at last, and took several long moments to appreciate the subtle grandeur of, what he was sure, must at least be a regular place of residance for His Master.

The room was large -- larger than the exterior would have led him to believe -- and entirely whole, without visible ruin. It was sparsely furnished, but with the utmost elegance. The best that magic could perform, he suspected. There was a large, crystal chandalier looming overhead, with no visible connection to the dark ceiling, but what scant light filled the room did not come from this. Rather, from green flaming torches that adorned the walls at intervals, and seemed to continue through passages leading off from this central room. There was none of teh comforting clutter and high-piled book cases that made up his own humble home and, while this did not surprise him, it did cause him some discomfort. There was something very human about mess and possessions, something he had never witnessed in any place belonging to the Dark Lord.

Severus cleared his throat, bowing his head to His Lord once more in an act of humbling himself that conveniently drew his gaze to the floor and away from his Master's eyes. "I have been studying hard, My Lord. You know how I appreciate such tasks, and I hope that my findings will be of the utmost assistance to You, My Lord.

"The origins of the Dementor are fascinating." Severus became more animated, as he always did when elaborating on a subject that interested him. "As I believe You once said, these creatures used to be human or humanois in genus. Their transformation came through repeated exposure to the Dark Arts, although there must be something more -- You Yourself, My Lord, are as skilled and talented as any wizard in history in this field, yet You seem to have only come to a certain juncture. There is, I am sure of it, a catalyst of some kind that develops the transformation further, to the wraith-like state we find in these creatures.

"But it seems to me, My Lord, the Your wish is not so much to create a Dementor as to replicate its kiss. This will require further study with the Dementors themselves, but I believe it is a matter of physics -- of particles of dark magic attracting the soul which is, in essence, dark magic's opposite -- we shall call it light magic to save confusion. The Dementor's dark magic attracts and feeds off this light magic, leaving, in some cases, nothing behind. The physics of this attraction should, I hope, not be too complex to discern, once I am more able to study the Dementors at close quarters."

[augury_npc]

Lord Voldemort continued straight through the hall and then through a corridor off to the left side of the room; both the temperature and the floor dropped with every step he and Severus took further inward.

He glanced his approval every so often as Severus explained his theories, turning to look at him when he said something particularly interesting. "You will have them as close as you like, here. There is one in stasis in the Potions chamber up ahead. Well," he amended, "there is more than one, but there is one that is still untouched. Dementors do not make the same trouble humans do, about giving up their fellows for my benefit, and I am quite sure they will extend that courtesy to you as well."

He turned leftward again, opening the door to a vast, high-ceilnged laboratory, one corner of which was cordened off and set behind glass- an indoor greenhouse. A staircase wound straight upward, and led to the surface, to an outdoor greenhouse that would have made Pomona Sprout nod approvingly. In another corner of the room, under the stasis spell floated no less than four dementors, two of them mutilated almost beyond recognition, another one was withered and bleached looking. The last was whole.

In the centre of the room was a wide, utilitarian table of sturdy oak, scoured and buffed smooth by use, but unpolished and unvarnished. One wall was covered almost entirely with books, another with a ceiling-high cabinet for cauldrons and vials of various descriptions, tongs and pippets, magical instruments and apparatuses gleaming in the flickering green firelight.

"There is a dark room through there," the Dark Lord said, gesturing toward a closed door sandwiched between two tall bookcases. "I've found the carcass stays fresh longer in the light when combined with stasis, but there are other uses for the dark, of course." He looked at Severus again, with some curiosity. "You are right- I am interested primarily in the Kiss, but . . ." He pursed his lips.

"Yes, dementors were human once, if Karkaroff is to be believed. But he also said there was a specific process of creation for them. Are you suggesting any excessive exposure to the Dark Arts would convert a wizard into a dementor, given this catalyst you speak of?"

[augury_s_snape]

Severus gazed with some wonderment about the cavernous room, built as though specifically for his needs. His eyes paused momentarily upon the mutillated Dementors, but he passed over them quickly. When a part of one's job description is pickling body parts, it takes very little to invoke disgust. He strode almost immediately to the imposing bookcase, finger running along the book spines, taking in the large collection of titles not even found in the Hogwarts restricted section. "This is ideal," he murmured under his breath, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips. It would appear being a party to insanity did have some perks.

He turned slowly, bowing deeply to the Dark Lord. "My Lord, I could not have asked for a finer working space. I am deeply honoured to be able to use it -- I only hope I may live up to Your expectations." He cleared his throat, turning now to the suspended Dementors, walking around the whole one with a look of deep fascination. "In response to your question, that's partly what I'm hoping to discover. I should think -- that is, logic would dictate -- that it would need to be a repeated exposure, but it may take some time to find out whether this is based quantatively, on the length of time Dark magic is regularly practiced, or qualitively, on the level of skill achieved."

[augury_npc]

The Dark Lord approached, explaining as he came what he had occupied himself with the past few weeks, pointing at the by turns scaly and lesioned organs of the creatures he had taken apart, questioning Severus and offering interpretations about their structural similarities and differences in comparison with the human, increasingly satisfied with his follower's enthusiasm and vim.

It was as good a pastime as any till tomorrow morning dawned, and Voldemort needed one to curb his well-concealed restlessness, his rising anticipation. Eventually, he simply allowed Severus to work and watched him put his Master's exquisite laboratory to matchless use.

By four, Severus seemed to have forgotten Lord Vodemort was even in the room, and the Dark Lord, impatient to begin the day, stood quietly and left. If all went well, he would be back before too long an interval.