Below the Dungeons – Midnight
The floor was freezing.
Severus didn't remember crawling to the abandoned corridor. He didn't remember the spell unraveling inside his mind like hot tar, dripping into every thought, every nerve.
But he felt it.
Magic twisted and snarled inside him, unfamiliar and wild, like something trying to rip free. The name carved into the core of his being—his own—had become a splinter. Every time he heard it, something inside him snapped.
And Lucius had known.
Lucius always knew.
Footsteps echoed.
Not sharp and arrogant like James.Not soft and calculating like Lillian.
But slow.
Smooth.
Measured.
"Severus," came a voice, silken and low.
Severus flinched. That name hurt now. It didn't just echo—it shredded. Like a hex stitched into the marrow of his bones.
"Shh." Lucius stepped into view, kneeling slowly. "I know. I saw it happen."
Severus stared, wide-eyed and shaking. "W—what did you—?"
"I didn't do it," Lucius said smoothly. "He did. Potter. He cursed you. And do you want to know why?"
His voice lowered, colder now.
"Because he saw you as something he couldn't control. Because Lillian did."
Severus's lip trembled. He wanted to scream. Cry. Vomit.
Lucius touched his hair, gently brushing it back. "I told you, didn't I? The world will always hate you for surviving."
"Help me," Severus whispered, voice raw.
Lucius smiled.
It wasn't kindness.
It was triumph.
Slytherin Dormitory – One Hour Later
Lillian burst in, robes soaked from rain, hair tangled.
He had traced Severus's magic to the faintest pulse beneath the castle and doubled back when he lost it—because he knew that magic like breath. He always had.
And now?
Severus was in bed.
Clean. Quiet.
Unconscious.
And Lucius was already there.
Sitting beside him, back straight, hands folded.
"I found him like this," Lucius said smoothly. "Collapsed. Alone."
Lillian's eyes narrowed. "And you didn't call for help?"
"I am the help," Lucius said coolly. "Unlike you, I actually care what happens to him."
Lillian stepped forward. "He hates being touched."
Lucius raised an eyebrow, tracing a finger down Severus's arm. "Not always."
A beat of silence. And then—
"Leave," Lillian said, jaw clenched. "Now."
Lucius rose slowly, adjusting the cuffs of his robes with deliberate grace. "Of course. I know when I'm not wanted."
He paused in the doorway.
"Oh—Lillian?"
"What."
Lucius turned just enough to let the firelight catch in his pale hair, casting shadows across his face.
"Next time you follow me with an invisibility charm, try not to cry so loudly. It's pathetic."
The door clicked shut.
Moments Later
Lillian stood over Severus's bed, fists trembling.
"You always do this," he whispered bitterly. "Let people like him touch you. You think it's power. It's not."
Severus stirred faintly, breath uneven. One hand curled in the sheets, the other twitching.
Lillian dropped into the chair beside him.
"Snape," he said, low. "Come back. I need you."
The room stayed quiet.
And somewhere in the castle…
James Potter was watching a mirror.
A two-way spell Lucius had taught him.
And he watched Lillian weep.
Last Line:
Lucius Malfoy closed his notebook with a smirk.Another plan in motion.Another pawn falling into place.And soon—
The checkmate would come with a kiss.