[HP] Butterfly Effect

The meeting place was at Malfoy Manor.

This was not much beyond Snape's expectations. After all, once the Dark Lord really returned, Lucius Malfoy would definitely fall for him without hesitation. There was no doubt about it.

He walked out from the misty black smoke, and the tall black iron gate with a pointed peak was useless to him.The heavy rain splashed on the manor, smashing all the fragrance of flowers and trees in early spring, and the noise of the rain was everywhere, vainly covering up the dead silence here, and the excessive water vapor condensed together, forming a unique indifferent atmosphere .

Something white and bloody dangled from the statue in the center of the fountain like a stained piece of cloth.Snape glanced very quickly, it was a boa constrictor, stalking and devouring a dead white peacock.

He walked through the heavy rain to the interior of Malfoy's house, and the water stains on his body disappeared instantly under the spell.

Turning into the wide, long corridor to the left, Snape saw that the door at the end was ajar.At the same time, there are more snakes lazily crawling on the ground here, with strangely bright patterns on their bodies, and they keep spitting out letters.They crawl slowly on the ground, looking from a distance like a colorful sea wave, which makes one's scalp tingle with terror.There was a faint smell of blood in the air, and on the exquisite dark carpet where snakes slithered past, blood stains bloomed one after another.

He glanced at the poisonous snakes, his expression became extremely hollow under the extremely high Occlumency, walked straight towards the door, and stretched out his hand to push it away.

Although Snape thought that he was fully prepared to face the return of the Dark Lord, when he really saw the man in front of him, he couldn't help being surprised for a moment.

In the spacious hall, there were several Death Eaters in black robes scattered around. They were all curled up on the ground in pain, panting heavily from time to time, their faces were as pale as snow, their eyes opened lazily, and their lips moved unconsciously.Lucius Malfoy and several other Death Eaters still maintained a humble kneeling posture for the time being. Snape glanced over and saw that everyone knew each other, except for one.

It was a short and thin old man, with gray hair that was sparsely stretched on his scalp, and the wrinkles on his skin made him look like a dryad. His pale blue eyes looked at all this with fear, and his body was unable to restrain himself. The place of residence twitched slightly.

But what really surprised Snape was the form of the Dark Lord.

The other party obviously also noticed Snape who had just arrived. On that perfect face that Snape knew and hated, there was a smile that only Voldemort could have. It was cold, cruel, and frightening to the bones.

His appearance, body, and everything seemed to be that Elias Gideon, but his eyes were not, his smile was not, not even the wand in his hand and the murderous look floating around him.

His pupils were scarlet, as thick as blood swelled on his irises.

"Ah, Severus, I was just wondering if you didn't intend to come over." "Elias" in front of him said in a very slippery tone, as lazy as a parade dying The poisonous snake around the prey is so dangerous that it is darker than the night outside the window, which is enough to make his audience tremble uncontrollably.

Snape quickly cut off the surprise, and respectfully knelt down towards him, his tone so sincere that it was hard to doubt: "My position has never changed, Master, and my allegiance to you has never wavered in 11 years. And when you return, I will continue to be your informant at Hogwarts, bringing you all the news you want."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes, and the scarlet fluctuated more violently, as if it would spill out of his beautiful eye sockets at any moment.He coldly stared at Snape who was kneeling on the ground, with the absolute contempt of the superiors for the lower creatures, and said lightly and viciously: "I'm afraid this is not good enough, my cunning Severus .I've heard, and almost seen, how much you are protected and reused by Dumbledore at Hogwarts. I think it's hard for me to trust you anymore. You know..."

As he spoke, he lifted the wand that Snape had never seen before under his chin. The cold wand was like the scales on a snake.

"In the past 11 years, you have never tried to find and help your master." He said regretfully, with a flick of his wand, a Cruciatus spell was cast on Snape, "how is life at Hogwarts?" , Severus?"

A huge pain swept over Snape in an instant, the feeling was so intense that even the flow of blood and the beating of the heart became unbearable torture, as if someone was tearing your bones out of your flesh and blood, The sharp point of the knife is stabbing your heart one after another.

For a second or two, Snape's vision was blind, seeing nothing, and then gradually cleared.His face became even paler, and there was no vitality in his body, and the arms supporting his body were shaking.

But his thinking didn't stop. He caught Voldemort's words "I almost saw it", and countless conjectures immediately flashed through his mind.There was no doubt that this body belonged to Elias Gideon. Could it be that he was the Dark Lord from the beginning?

This is impossible, not only the Dark Mark has not been discovered, but also myself, Dumbledore and Salazar have not discovered it.How did he fool them all?

Or... what's wrong?

"I have to admit, you've let me down, Severus. But I'm also surprised, how on earth did you convince Dumbledore to protect you so hard for so long?" Voldemort hissed As he spoke, he looked down at him motionless, smiled cruelly, and cast Cruciatus on him again, "Come on, let me listen to you. Tell me how you perfectly acted as Dumbledore Lido's pet, huh?"

Snape restrained the feeling of powerlessness and dizziness caused by the severe pain, and still maintained a kneeling posture, his body trembling slightly due to the unbearable pain: "I confess my stupid mistake to you, master , I thought you had failed." Voldemort sneered: "You are not the only one who thinks so, are you?"

As he spoke, he glanced back at those who were silent, and then refocused on Snape.

"But the reason why I have been able to gain Dumbledore's trust for so many years, my master, is because I have obeyed your orders before. Just as you predicted, Dumbledore always has the habit of thinking of people in a positive way, So he believed in me and it's all in your hands. And after that accident 11 years ago, Dumbledore still believed in me, so I took advantage of that and stayed at Hogwarts. Until a few months ago, the mark of honor reminded me of your imminent return. I was overjoyed, because it meant that my patience and waiting at Hogwarts was totally worth it, and I chose to continue being you without hesitation I am loyal to you for what was entrusted to me in the first place." Snape raised his head and looked straight into Voldemort's cold eyes, "So as a proof to welcome you back and to show you that I am still loyal, I will promise you nothing. Unreservedly provide all the information about Dumbledore in the past 11 years."

Voldemort raised his eyebrows, seeming to be quite interested in his last words, and he looked straight at Snape with cold eyes, as if trying to see through him: "This answer is a little better, Severus , but don't tell me that you are late because you are preparing these intelligence contents?"

"My late arrival, master, is because I went to find Dumbledore and waited for him to let me come here. Because of this, he will think that I am still his right-hand man and that I can continue to stay at Hogwarts And the Order of the Phoenix. None of their plans and secrets can escape your eyes." Snape met his gaze without flinching.

Voldemort stared at him for a long moment, then laughed without being kind.It was an almost ferocious sinister smile, covering the young and beautiful face that belonged to Elias, looking like a devil.No matter how beautiful the outside is, it can't hide the fierceness and cruelty inside.There seemed to be something burning in his eyes suddenly because of Snape's words, with the light of fire and the temperature of ice: "Very well, Severus. Then, as my always loyal servant, why don't you replace me?" What about killing Harry Potter? I basically see him alive and well at Hogwarts, right?"

"It is true, my lord, I did not kill him for you. Because he has been under Dumbledore's close protection, and until he entered school, there were rumors about him everywhere. Some even said that Potter himself It’s just a dark wizard with powerful magic, so he was able to escape from your hands. I admit that I was very curious to know if he was really what the rumors said, so I didn’t do anything.”

"Then after you've been observing for so long, what's your conclusion?" Voldemort narrowed his eyes at him.

"He's just an ordinary boy, with no extraordinary talents at all. It's just luck, and friends who are more talented than him. He managed to get out of many difficulties. He was mediocre to the extreme, but he was as smug as his father , annoying. But Dumbledore protected him, and I tried several times, but I couldn't get him out of Hogwarts."

"More gifted friends." Voldemort repeated his words.Before Snape could explain, he smiled amusedly and said, "You mean the young born tamer?"

Snape's heart sank suddenly.

"What's her name?" Voldemort tilted his head slightly, as if he was recalling something carefully, and then remembered, "Field, right? Aurora Field. Why do I always feel that I should have something else about this name Is the impression correct?"

"She is Edmund Field's daughter. You sent me to find and kill her. Unfortunately, she was picked up by Dumbledore at that time." Snape replied without emotion, "I was at school later I kept an eye on her and approached her on purpose because I wanted to know why Dumbledore was so protective of her. Then I found out, she was a natural beast tamer."

"Oh, that's right, I remembered." Voldemort nodded, finally showing a trace of satisfaction on his face.Then he turned, and to everyone, including the few Death Eaters who had recovered from Cruciatus and hurriedly crawled across the floor to kiss Voldemort's shoe-toe, said lazily: "Eleven years, and it's been eleven years since we last rallied. But you still answer my call like yesterday. That means we're still united under the Dark Mark, isn't it?"

"Master... we are absolutely loyal... absolutely loyal to you, Master," said Lucius Malfoy quickly, as if he had been thinking about the words a lot. "Your loyalty will be tested, my cunning friend, and if you have one, I will see." Voldemort looked at him indifferently, and the smile on the corner of his mouth made Malfoy shudder.

"Master, forgive me for not discovering that you have been at Hogwarts all this time, if I know even a little..."

"I'm not at Hogwarts, Lucius," interrupted Voldemort. "You seem to be wondering why I am the way I am, don't you?"

"I just feel it's incredible, this is a miracle, master... please tell us..."

"Ah, where should I start?" Voldemort was pacing in the middle of the vast and beautiful hall, his eyes swept over the dark purple walls, and the portraits that dared not look at them, and finally stopped at the strange man beside him. on the old man.Immediately afterwards, he pointed at the other party with his wand, and dragged him across the air, exposing him to the brightest light.The torrential rain was washing over the Malfoy Manor, and the loud noise oppressed everyone's nerves, and no one dared to even breathe.

Snape looked at the panic-stricken old man expressionlessly, and heard Voldemort say in a brisk and unjoyed tone: "Let's start with you, my dear guide."

"I have to admit, I had fantasized that any of you would come and find me and help me free myself from the humblest wandering spirit. But it seems I was wrong." When he said this, Those Death Eaters all flinched, "I have tried many methods, and of course I cannot deny that I have failed many times. Fortunately, at last our new friend, Francis Gideon, broke into the forest, came before me."

"He brought me two wonderful gifts, didn't he, Francis?" Voldemort looked down at him coldly, and raised his wand, "A wand from Salazar Slytherin, And a body that fits just right."

"He stole this wand from Ilvermorny decades ago, but couldn't use his crippled Parseltongue ability to use it." A vicious smile appeared on Voldemort's face, and more It's a kind of pride, "Of course. This unexpected branch of you has mixed too many despicable Muggle blood, and of course you won't have pure Parseltongue ability. But even so, this Elias The child is still beyond my expectation. He is relatively talented, and the integration is also very suitable, very good."

As he spoke, he moved his wrist, and the Slytherin wand circled around in his hand.

"They are relatives, and there is only one descendant in a generation, right? And our dear Francis is Elias' grandfather. Yes, it sounds beautiful and warm, right? So I asked Francis to bring this child here , bring it to me."

"Although your help was not voluntary, you did bring me back to life." Voldemort looked at the old man lying on the ground sweating, his tone was as cold as his expression, "I will not treat those who helped me badly. You You won't die, stand up!"

Francis got up staggeringly, unable to stand at all, trembling as if he was about to fall apart, unable to utter a single syllable.

When Snape heard this, he fully understood that Voldemort's possession of Elias' body was equivalent to turning him into another living Horcrux, so he possessed all of Elias' memories, so he naturally Including something about Aurora.

"Now let me tell you about your information, Severus." Voldemort turned to Snape again, and tapped his forehead with his wand, "This child has a lot of things about Field in his mind, tell me something I don't know. Like, why did Dumbledore ask her to come to Ilvermorny in the first place? Why did she seem interested in the Gideon family thing to me? Does she know something, my loyal Severus?"

"She is now a member of the Order of the Phoenix, Master." Snape looked at him blankly, and replied without the slightest hesitation, "Dumbledore has always trusted her, cared for her, and used her very much. That's why he gave her seven In the first year, send her to Ilvermorny to find this wand in your hand."

"Oh?" Voldemort's eyes fell on the wand and turned around. "Why are they looking for this wand? You know, even I myself didn't know I would have it in the first place."

"She is a descendant of Hufflepuff, master. Hufflepuff and the founder of Slytherin have a very special relationship, and this relationship is also reflected in their wands." Snape replied.

"continue."

"They seem to have a very ancient relationship. Before you returned, Hufflepuff's ghost once discovered that the ancient tree where Hufflepuff's wand was buried had changed. It is speculated that Slytherin's wand will also reappear. .The Order of the Phoenix found out that only Parseltongue can awaken Slytherin's wand, so..."

"So." Voldemort took it. "They thought I would get the wand, so they sent people to Ilvermorny to find it."

"Yes, master. But they didn't find it."

Voldemort sneered, and then asked, "Where is Hufflepuff's wand, and what does it have to do with this one in my hand?"

"It's in the Hebrides." Snape replied quickly, his tone firm and confident. "As for the connection, I don't know yet. Because no one has actually seen them. But if there is a connection, it will leave a mark on the wand." imprint."

Voldemort casually reached out and stroked the wand in his hand, a icy approval flashed in his eyes: "The news is very good, you convinced me Severus, welcome back."

Compared with other Death Eaters, Voldemort has always been more partial to Snape.Because compared to others who blindly followed out of fear and impotently begged for forgiveness, Snape still maintained the composure, intelligence, tact and reason of 11 years ago.Of course he knew that from the perspective of loyalty, Snape was actually not as fanatical as Bellatrix, but he was more thoughtful and resourceful enough, and his ability to handle affairs made Voldemort always satisfied.

"I have always been loyal to you, master."

"Very good." He nodded with satisfaction, "Azkaban has been breached. The dementors will join us, they are our natural allies. And I will also recall the banished giants and bring back all my loyal ones." Servant, once again have a group of magical creatures that everyone fears."

Speaking of this, his eyes flickered viciously: "So, a natural animal trainer of a hostile camp is a big trouble, a trouble that must be solved... What a pity, such a cute little girl. Her How does potential compare to Scamander?"

Snape knelt on the ground and lowered his head, his eyes trembled uncontrollably, and there was no change in expression on his face, as if what Voldemort said had nothing to do with him at all: "Forgive me for not being clear about this, Master."

"Forget it." Voldemort waved his hand, ending the topic indifferently.

"Now, time to show my allegiance to me—don't worry Lucius, we're not done talking. I need someone to go to the Hebrides and take Hufflepuff's Bring me the wand. Isn't this a difficult request?" Voldemort said slowly, looking at the others word by word.

"As you wish, my master." The Death Eaters knelt respectfully on the ground, with their foreheads pressed to the ground.

After speaking, they quickly disappeared in place.

"Master, we are willing to catch that obstructive Field for you."

"I admire your courage and eagerness to prove your ambition, Lucius. But have you forgotten that you have learned the ability of natural animal tamers in Scamander, right?" Voldemort reminded, "Since Dumbledore has already started preparing for my return - it's really sad that he is the one who most firmly believes that I will come back. I'm a little touched now."

He sneered, "Dumbledore will definitely take protective measures for Hogwarts in the shortest possible time. Others have gone to block the news from the newspaper and the Ministry of Magic, just treat it as a belated copy of my gift to them." It’s an Easter gift. So, now is the best chance to return to Hogwarts, wait a little longer, and Dumbledore will arrange everything.”

After speaking, he finally turned to Lucius: "Go to see your son, Lucius, go now."

Narcissa stared at him blankly, the light in her eyes almost shattered.

"As for you, Severus, I want you to go back to Hogwarts and tell me whatever Dumbledore does," Voldemort said, tilting his head at him.

"Yes, Master."

"After I figure out what spells I don't know about this wand, I will come to you." He said, endless black air began to spiral and spread from the bottom of his feet.Nagini swam in through the door, around Snape, and into the black air that was gradually enveloping Voldemort.

"By the way, Harry Potter, I must live.

As for Field... she'd better be dead since she's made a regrettable decision. "

After speaking, he and Nagini disappeared in place.

Narcissa grabbed Lucius's hand and tugged at his clothes tightly: "Master, I just asked you to see Draco... What does he mean?! What does he mean?!"

"Calm down, we can only listen to him now..."

Snape was not interested in watching the discussion between their husband and wife, so he turned and left Malfoy Manor.

According to Dumbledore's arrangement, a group of members of the Order of the Phoenix should have rushed to the Hebrides when he came here.The information he had just provided to the Dark Lord undoubtedly led those Death Eaters into the encirclement of the Order of the Phoenix.

This is his usual method.

The Dark Lord was suspicious, cruel and cunning by nature, and it was impossible to deceive him with pure lies.But Snape could captivate him with a core of truth, and then secretly mislead him with carefully crafted words that were half true and false.A lie can only play its greatest role under the cover of a truth that can withstand scrutiny, and only such an elaborate and complicated lie can perfectly deceive the Dark Lord.

He quickly returned to Hogwarts, and saw Regulus waiting at the door at some point.The other party was dressed in a dark green robe, which almost merged with the shadow of the castle in the rain, and beside him stood the extremely respectful elf Kreacher.

"You've seen him." Regulus noticed the unusual pallor in his face, which was caused by Cruciatus.Snape replied: "The Azkaban group should have killed the guards in the entire prison when they fled. They planned to attack the unprepared Ministry of Magic and newspapers in the middle of the night to block the news. Several other people were going to On the way to snatch the wand from the Hebrides, the Dark Lord must have been looking for someone who could explain to him the connection between the two wands."

"Ollivander, I know where his home is, and I will go find him." Regulus nodded, "Most of the other members of the Order of the Phoenix have already gone to the Hebrides, and Aurora has just returned .”

Hearing this name, Snape's face softened slightly, and Regulus quickly followed Kreacher and disappeared into the vortex of Apparition.

He walked into the castle, and saw the familiar young blonde woman through the long stone corridor and the mottled and hazy yellow lights everywhere.The heavy rain was raging outside, drenching the silence between them.

Aurora ran over and reached out to hold his hand, and was surprised to find that the other's hand was as cold as a piece of ice, and trembling uncontrollably: "What's wrong with you? What did he do to you?"

Her tone bordered on a rare kind of anger.

"It's all right." Snape replied, his restored eyes fell on her, as if watching a fading twilight so nervously, "Have you got the wand?" "Yes." Aurora nodded, eyes His worry was palpable, "Let's go back first, you seem to need some palliative."

After returning to the cellar office, Aurora deftly found the palliative from the cabinet full of potion bottles, opened it, and handed it to Snape.After drinking the palliative, Snape's complexion improved slightly, heavy fatigue occupied his face, and he was as pale as a ghost about to be broken.

Aurora wanted him to go back to his room to rest, but Snape just shook his head and cut her off, asking where his wand was now.She immediately took Helga's wand out of her sleeve and put it in front of him: "Is Slytherin's wand in his hand?" Snape closed his eyes and nodded slightly, agreeing with her guess: "The wand was in the hand of Elias Gideon's grandfather, who took it from Ilvermorny. Now..."

"What's going on now?" Aurora asked.

Snape paused, and replied: "He possessed Gideon, just like Potter, turning Gideon into a living Horcrux."

"What...what?" Aurora's mind went blank for a moment after hearing this, "How...how did he find Elias?"

"Go to Dumbledore first." Snape stood up with support, and Aurora quickly supported him.

"Do you have to go now? Your physical condition..."

"There is no time."

The two came directly from the fireplace to the headmaster's office, and saw Salazar sitting sullenly opposite Dumbledore's desk, and Harry curled up on the padded recliner beside him, sleeping very restlessly.

"You're back," said Dumbledore softly, casting a spell around Harry to shield him from outside noises. "Is the wand in his place?"

"That's right," Snape replied, and explained in the most succinct terms how the Dark Lord got the Slytherin wand and possessed Elias.

After hearing this, Salazar gritted his molars and sneered. In all fairness, his way of laughing was very similar to the Dark Lord's, and the same sinister wind gusts made people's teeth ache.

Aurora looked at Harry: "How is he?" "He's fine, but stripping off the soul fragments will hurt him a bit. But this is the best result. If a living creature is possessed, theoretically In theory, once the possession is over, the carrier will die soon." Dumbledore said, and looked back at Harry who was sleeping.

"Then...then Elias..." Aurora looked at them incredulously, "Wouldn't he be sure to die?"

"I think Tom doesn't look like the kind of person who will cooperate with us obediently and let us separate them." Dumbledore said after a moment of silence, "What do you think?"

He was speaking to Salazar.

Salazar sat on the chair with his fingers intertwined, the expression on his face was as pale as the darkness in his eyes: "The soul fragment attached to that kid is only a very weak piece, because that idiot did it. There are too many horcruxes, and his soul is already riddled with holes. The soul fragments that were shattered by the rebound in the end are completely incomparable with the real horcruxes, so he can survive. But attached to Gideon's house The child's body is the main soul, this is not a concept."

"So... so we have nothing to do now?" Aurora understood their words with difficulty, "If you want to kill the Dark Lord, you must... kill Elias together...?"

For no reason, she thought of the first time she met him in Ilvermorny, when he was less than 17 years old, he looked gentle, polite, hearty and generous.They are very good friends, they have always taken care of each other when they were in Ilvermorny, and they helped each other keep secrets together.Now, however, he is possessed by the disembodied Voldemort as a living Horcrux, and there is no way he can be saved.

"Is there really nothing you can do, sir?" Aurora turned to look at Salazar, trying to see even a little bit of hope from his face, "He is my friend and one of the descendants of your family, He is a very good person. And he is...he is only 19 years old and less than [-] years old, about the same age as those Hogwarts students who have just graduated, he shouldn't just die like this, please save him."

"You can't save everyone, Field. In fact, at the moment when the Dark Lord has returned, you'd better abandon this idea." Snape reminded her coldly, frowning, and his expression was not very good, "He With the memory of Gideon, knowing that you are a natural animal trainer and joined the Order of the Phoenix, you and Potter are his key targets. The most important thing you should do is to protect yourself."

"But……"

"He's right." Salazar said without looking at anyone, "You don't need to take care of anyone, just take care of yourself." As he said, he stretched out his hand to Aurora, "The wand is in your hand ?”

"At..." Aurora lowered her head and took out the wand and handed it to Salazar.

He took it, and stroked it lightly and meticulously with his slender fingers, from the feathery patterns on the top to the tip, inch by inch, as if he was groping for one of his most cherished treasures.A kind of long-lasting and profound sadness leaked from the bottom of his eyes, fragmented tenderness.

"Melanie gave it to you?" he asked, not too surprised, the movement of stroking the wand with his palm was almost intimate.Aurora nodded: "She, she said that this wand and I are quite suitable."

Hearing these words, Salazar paused his movements, and raised his eyelashes to stare at her, as if seeing her for the first time.Aurora couldn't understand that kind of sight, it was complicated, ethereal, confused, and inspected.It seems that he is looking at a mirror that can span time and space, and the time that has long been barren behind the mirror is the reality that he wants to touch but is powerless.

Until Aurora was stared at by him a little creepy and subconsciously wanted to back away from Snape, he finally returned to the cold and gloomy look at the beginning, and handed back the wand: "Then take it with you."

"Then let's discuss the next plan." Dumbledore's eyes flickered deeply, "I think they must be eager to capture this place."

"They're not the only ones who can't wait." Salazar let out a creepy snort.

Aurora and Snape looked at each other.

The rain outside the window is rustling, and it is still falling tirelessly.