"Is being a double agent fun, Severus?"
Lord Voldemort looked at Severus with a half-smile, watching the color drain entirely from the younger man's face while his Occlumency remained impeccably maintained.
"Master... I have not..."
"Oh?"
Lord Voldemort had to admit that he very much enjoyed manipulating his double agent in this manner.
"Let us hope so."
"Roll up your sleeve," Lord Voldemort said. Severus froze.
Lord Voldemort frowned slightly, looking down at him from his lofty height, an unreadable emotion flickering in his crimson pupils. "What? Unwilling?"
"No, Lord..."
Severus hurriedly rolled up his left sleeve, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead. The arm he extended was trembling slightly.
"The Dark Mark."
Lord Voldemort gently touched the tip of his wand to Severus's arm, and a great snake crawled out from the jaws of a black skull.
It was the official Dark Mark, rather than the temporary one unified for all underage young wizards; this one could never be removed.
"Scourgify." The Dark Lord vanished the cold sweat from Severus's forehead and back, then asked abruptly, "So terrified of me?"
Without warning, he reached out and gripped Severus's chin, forcing it upward with irresistible strength. Severus was caught completely off guard, his gaze locking with the Dark Lord's. A powerful sensation of intrusion rushed over his heart, and panic flared in Severus's chest.
Legimtimacy instantly tore through his Occlumency defenses, though Lord Voldemort was not particularly pleased with what he saw.
"Oh, Severus, leaving aside whether Trelawney will even make that prophecy in this lifetime, the fact that I haven't even begun slaughtering wizards yet... why on earth were you already planning to act as a spy?"
The elegant aristocratic drawl lingered on his tongue, and Lord Voldemort unhurriedly spat out the words, gripping Severus's neck like a poisonous snake.
Lord Voldemort looked at Severus in disappointment, gripped his chin, and shoved him aside.
"Lock him in the dungeon."
A house-elf materialized, grabbed Severus's clothes, and dragged him down to the dungeon.
"Sir, please do not try to escape; outside are swarms of aggressive Dark magic." The house-elf's shrill voice snapped Severus back to his senses before it instantly vanished.
The dungeon, located within Voldemort Manor, was reasonably clean, except... there was absolutely nothing in it.
Severus looked at the five stone walls and the single iron-barred gate of the cell, sinking into deep contemplation.
Aside from his own cell, all the other holding areas possessed thick iron doors featuring only small barred windows, and upon closer inspection, various shapes of dried bloodstains remained visible on the floor.
In the distance sat torture instruments, likewise stained with dried blood. Yet Severus was not particularly frightened; he simply had no idea when he might be tortured to death.
......
The more Lord Voldemort thought about it, the angrier he grew, tapping his wand-handle cane sharply against the floor with a rhythmic pounding.
Abraxas knocked on the door, then pushed it open. Seeing Lord Voldemort worked up into such a rage, he asked in bewilderment, "What is the matter?"
Logically speaking, his friend's patience and methods were top-tier; even if that boy had refused him or even possessed a fiancée, it shouldn't have been enough to drive him into such a fury.
Lord Voldemort let out a deep sigh. "He was planning to go act as Dumbledore's mole."
"Had I pressed the Dark Mark into his skin even a moment later, he might already have been inside the Order of the Phoenix."
Abraxas: "!!!"
"Voldy!" Abraxas sat down with a serious expression. "Is he a traitor or a spy?"
"You surely aren't still planning to keep him by your side!"
Initially, Abraxas had simply found the whole notion absurd—since when did Death Eaters manage to infiltrate the Order of the Phoenix as spies, when it was always the other way around? But when he saw Lord Voldemort sitting in silence, his brain gave a loud hum, and he went blank.
"You can't be serious, Voldy! Voldy, you actually intend to keep a spy by your side!?"
Abraxas was nearly driven mad with rage. "Wake up! You are the Dark Lord, you have countless Death Eaters at your command. Whenever traitors were discovered in the past, you tortured them with the Cruciatus Curse until they died—how on earth has this Severus bewitched you so completely?"
Lord Voldemort remained silent for a long time before saying, "I owe him that."
Abraxas suddenly fell silent. He knew a great deal about Voldy's past—he knew about that Mudblood, and he also knew what that idiotic main soul of his old friend, who had ended up getting killed by his own rebound curse, had done, and what that Severus had done in their past lives.
"Forget it," Abraxas said. "Since I'm the one helping you manage the Death Eaters anyway, the worst I can do is order the Death Eaters not to attack Hogwarts and Dumbledore. But if he starts organizing people again, we *will* beat them up."
"I know, I know, Abru."
Lord Voldemort said wearily, and Abraxas patted him on the shoulder. "Did you throw him in the dungeon?"
Lord Voldemort nodded, earning a scoff from Abraxas: Pervert.
The dungeon at Voldemort Manor had long been abandoned, but house-eves had consistently maintained the equipment within it using livestock.
Abraxas had never understood why, but now he knew.
"Go on then, I'm going to go check on my Lucius first."
Abraxas departed with a light step. Lord Voldemort sat alone for a long time, then retrieved something from a drawer and left the study carrying it.
During the Christmas banquet, while the Death Eaters were still reveling, Lord Voldemort appeared down in the dungeon.
"Master."
Severus knelt alone on the stone floor like a bat with broken wings.
"Severus, you truly disappoint me."
Lord Voldemort spoke, tossing the item in his hand across the floor. Severus picked it up; there were no labels attached to it, but from the shape of the vial alone, Severus could immediately recognize what it contained.
In their past life, Lord Voldemort had taught him Potion-making hand by hand, making him the only person familiar with the contents of every potion vial he carried—well... perhaps one could count Abraxas as well?
This particular bottle held a lust-inducing Potion.
Yet Severus did not hesitate. He uncorked the vial and drained it in a single gulp. Before long, his body began to grow hot and feverish. Though his internal magic refused to obey his will, his mind remained perfectly clear.
To remain lucid while watching oneself sink into degradation—this potion was named the Degradation Potion, independently invented by No-Nose himself and utilized for breaking the pride of arrogant female witches of the Order of the Phoenix.
With no strength left in his limbs, Severus managed a shaky raise of his head to look at Lord Voldemort, who had drawn closer and unlocked the cell door.
Two manacles appeared around Severus's wrists and neck, personally locked on by Lord Voldemort to ensure there was no escaping them without his own proprietary silent unlocking spell.
"Open your mouth."
Lord Voldemort's chilling voice whispered into Severus's ear.
He seemed to struggle for air, his throat constricting continuously. Lord Voldemort recognized the signs of suffocation, but he had no intention of releasing him just yet.
"Cough, cough..."
Fingers trembling with fits of coughing left a trail of droplets behind.
The Dark Lord departed without leaving the slightest trace of attachment, leaving Severus flushed with fever, his entire body burning and weak.
......
After much deliberation, I've decided to open it. With the winter break coming up soon, I hope you student kids can give us a chance.
Bonus chapter channels:
(1) A single-chapter long review exceeding 5 + 500 words (no fluff padding allowed, deadline February 25).
(2) Book circle fan fiction at a 1:1 bonus chapter ratio (no fluff padding allowed).
(3) Gift value reaching 100 adds one chapter (minors are strictly prohibited from giving high-value gifts (≥5r)).
(4) Fan ranking / gift ranking #1 spot adds one chapter (deadline February 25).
[All of the above are in a trial phase, starting January 22]