Always For You. [Snape Romance] [Harry Potter]

Arc 2: Chapter 8: Calamity

Arc Two: Delusional Reverie
Chapter Eight: Calamity

"Now, where shall we start? From the beginning would be most suitable, don't you agree?" Ruberion asked, staring down at my feeble state. There was nothing I could do but crumble and listen.

He folded his arms with pride and began to circle me. Every word he spoke desired to wound like knives. 

"We shall begin at my time at Hogwarts; the place that you so pointlessly cherish. Fifty years ago, I wandered the same halls that you did. It is a shame how little progress has been made since then." He tutted. "In my first year, I was sorted into Gryffindor. I had a knack for magic, you see. It all came naturally to me. By my third year, I felt ready to take my OWLs, but that pathetic headmaster of yours said it was too premature. So what did I do with all this free time I had while my classmates were bumbling around like fools?"

"I studied the Dark Arts. At first, it was a few mere jinxes and the occasional hex if I could get away with it... I also took an interest in some potions that I'm sure your dear  Severus would faint should he see them." He chuckled at the thought.
"I grew to be, what I consider, a master in the field and I had barely reached the age of sixteen! Yes... it was all perfect but there was so much more to be done. I came across a type of magic that fascinated me more than anything else: the Imperius Curse. You obviously know of it having worked at the Ministry."

The Imperius Curse, one of the three forbidden curses, was perhaps the most dastardly of them all. When used on a subject, they fall completely under your control and will do whatever it is you command of them. It was one of the defences that many Death Eaters used to avoid imprisonment and was exceptionally hard to detect if one was under its influence. The strangest thing was that the curse allowed for the subject to perform tasks with the dexterity or knowledge far out of their reach. 

"Then you would know that, unlike the Killing Curse and Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse can be resisted. I wanted to delve into a way to create an improved version that had no resistance to it. A flawless form. During my sixth year, I placed many students under my influence and although the average wizard cannot resist the Imperius Curse, I knew that something was missing. It was in my seventh year that I realised what the missing piece of the puzzle was."

He got to his knees behind me and wrapped his arms around me. Gently, he nuzzled my neck. I was too shocked to move him away. No, something was immobilising me. My body felt so heavy and weak. 

"When are people most vulnerable and suggestible? In their dreams. I needed someone to test my theory and I found the perfect person: a girl who had been hopelessly in love with me since our first year together. She was so pathetic that she agreed immediately when I asked her to Hogsmeade. We took a room together and I placed her under the Imperius Curse and commanded her to sleep. As she slept, I tinkered with her mind. When she awoke, she was a completely different person. It was as if her soul had been erased from her body and replaced with the will to serve me."

How awful... Is this what he is doing to me?

"I continued to experiment until I mastered my craft. I created a new type of Imperius Curse that had no flaws. Occlumency was pointless from the start, my dear." he mocked. "At that point, I had no use for the girl so there was only one way to dispose of her and dispose of her I did."

I felt just enough power in my lungs to get out a question: "But why did you make her mark your initials on her palms?" 

"Is it not obvious yet? You are denser than I expected. I wanted to get caught. The chance to practice on Dementors was a prize I had to seize. I sat in that cell learning the ways to bend a person's will with words alone before capturing the last pieces of their autonomy. Despite what most wizards believe, Dementors can be reasoned with under the correct conditions... If they let me go free, I would offer them an eternal feast of souls to devour. I consider it one of my greatest achievements."