Chocolate Enchantment

Chocolate Enchantment Chapter 1-2

Albus's thin face was serious, his lips pursed below his long, crooked nose. Silence seemed to stretch before them for eons, though it was likely only a couple of minutes. Then Albus nodded. "It seems you must fulfill your vow. You have no choice."

"But, Headmaster, we both know Draco will fail and I will have to kill you for him. He is only a boy, far weaker than his father." Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You have no choice. It is kill me or die yourself. I am an old man, and I am not the one who has to face off Voldemort in the end. Harry is. He'll need your help, but to do that, you must live. You are our eyes and ears in Riddle's inner circle. We need you. You must not be sacrificed. So it will be me." There was a long pause as Severus internalized those words, hating that such a tragedy should fall to his own hands. He couldn't stand the thought.

"I am dying anyway, Severus." Dumbledore lifted his withered hand to show the damage done by one of Voldemort's Horcuxes when they had released a bit of the mad man's soul a few weeks earlier. The withering had been held at bay with the aid of potions, but without them the injury would soon take over his body. As things stood, the damage was still spreading, however slowly.

Severus erupted from his seat, gesticulating wildly. "You don't know what you're saying, Headmaster. If I were to . . . complete Draco's assignment, I would become nothing more than the hunted. What good would I do for the Order if they didn't follow me, if they didn't believe me? How will I be of service if I am forced to hide away like Black did? I can't live that way."

"If it comes down to killing me or breaking your vow, you must do it. That's an order. We will find a way for you to keep assisting the Order before then."

Silence reverberated around the room while Severus tried to take it all in. A glance at Dumbledore showed him looking weary, as though all hundred and fifty two years of his age had beset him at once. This man was the only one Severus trusted, the only human to have shown him more than the most fleeting concern. And though that concern was far from perfect, it was still the best Severus had known. The man must not die by his hand. Severus would do everything in his power to ensure Draco fulfilled his task. There was no other choice. Both of his Unbreakable Vows, the one to Narcissa and the one he had made to Dumbledore all those years before, now mandated that he must follow through with killing the Headmaster if Draco failed.

Despair filled Severus's soul, what little he still claimed as his own. It would not be the first time he killed, and with the act, Severus worried it would be far from his last. He wondered how much of his soul would be left when this was all over. Looking down, he saw blood seeping from his fingertips where he had gripped the rock of the window ledge too tightly. He could smell the coppery scent, almost taste it. Still, he felt nothing.

There was no choice.

Finally, the Headmaster spoke again. "Now, if I'm going to live less than a year, we have many plans to make. Sit so we can begin."

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Months had passed and Christmas was long gone. Severus had been doing his best to get Draco to tell him what his plans were, but faced a wall of opposition. There was no telling what the boy had in mind, as he refused to budge an inch to accept help. The platinum blond prat was too sure Severus wanted the glory. If only the child could see how much Severus wished he dared defy the Headmaster and kill himself instead.

Not that he had a death wish. There was little enough in this life to make it worth living, but that didn't mean Severus Snape wouldn't do his best to cling to the pathetic life he had been given. He had little property, a disturbing heritage, and no one who he felt was truly his friend. Though he called many Death Eaters by the name 'friend,' not even the Headmaster put Severus's own welfare above anyone else's. It was a hard thing to accept at times. He was little more than a pawn in the lives of two powerful men. And Severus had no one to blame for that position but himself.