Don't Be Lonely

Chapter Nine: He-Who-Must-Not-Know

***Severus Snape***

The instant he had Disapparated, Snape felt someone seize hold of his back, gripping his black cloak tightly. Did Potter somehow manage to catch him? A moment later and the pair tumbled to the earth, blood dripped from the gashes on his chest, painting the dull ground with a glossy crimson coating. Grasping at his chest in a futile attempt to stem the blood flow, Snape staggered to his feet, panting with the effort. A flash of gold in his peripheral vision caught his attention, looking at him with concerned blue sapphire eyes was Zeno, Hogwarts' only immortal boy.

"What are you doing here...Mr. Zeno? Do you desire revenge for the Headmaster's death?"

"Mister, you need to use a healing spell on that wound before you lose too much blood," advised Zeno. Inky black eyes stared at the boy for a moment before flickering to his wand, muttering the incantations, Snape quietly heeded Zeno's advice.

CRACK!

Both Snape's and Zeno's heads whipped around to the creeping shadows of the trees where fallen leaves crunched beneath heavy footsteps.

"Chasing me all the way to Malfoy Manor was foolish, Mr. Zeno. There's no-one that can save you here, you can't escape from the Dark Lord...so don't bother... trying," it was a cryptic message, the boy was smarter than he appears so he should be able to understand the words he is trying to convey. Snape knew that if the Dark Lord was to view his memories of this moment, there was a chance the Dark Lord could discover his true intentions, something which would be best to avoid. The Dark Lord must never get his hands on the secrets behind Zeno's power, Snape would make sure of it.

"Zeno knows!! Zeno will bring Mister back to Hogwarts with him," Snape sneered at Zeno's optimism. So he did understand...

"You wish... to bring me back to be punished... for my crime? How naïve...you think you can force me to go...with you?" He drawled, eyes lowered to peer directly at Zeno, who gave a slight almost imperceptible nod. Snape pointed his wand at Zeno's head so the tip pressed firmly against the boy's temple, his free hand roughly snatched Zeno, holding him captive by the scruff of his green scarf. Not a second later, a Death Eater, Thorfinn Rowle trudged out of the forest.

"Who's this? If you can't kill him, I'll do it," Rowle offered callously, wearing a sadistic smirk on his face.

"I'm surprised an idiot like you can't even recognise the target the Dark Lord has ordered us to capture," sneered Snape, mockingly. The large, blond man glared at the insult to his intelligence, "surely...you have not...forgotten about the immortal boy?" at those last two words, the Death Eater's eye widened, death glare forgotten.

CRACK! CRAACK! SNAP! SNAP! CRACK!

More Death Eaters Apparated into the clearing, joining the trio. First Bellatrix Lestrange and Malfoy, then Yaxley, Greyback, Selwyn and lastly, the Carrows. "Where's Gibbon?" Snape asked, seeing that one of them was missing.

"Dead," one of the Carrows answered curtly. Well...missing in action.

"Get going, the Dark Lord must be anxiously awaiting the good news... let's not keep him waiting... any longer than he has to," Snape ordered, gesturing with his head for the others to make their way to the Manor's gates. The group of Death Eaters strode towards the pair of magical wrought-iron gates with Snape dragging Zeno along by his scarf. Upon arriving at the gates they saluted with their branded arms, causing the iron to transform into a smoke-like substance thus allowing them to pass through. The manor's front door swung open by itself upon their arrival, inviting them inside a dimly lit hallway. From the walls, the eyes of the pale-faced portraits followed Snape and Zeno as the group passed by, heading to the drawing room where the meetings frequently take place.