Pravus sat, staring down at the unconscious body of Severus Snape. He had not expected that, for all that the man seemed to despise him, he truly seemed to have Harry's best interests at heart. The man had protested Dumbledore's treatment of him several times, albeit while sneering of what a 'sniveling brat' he was.

The question, then, was what he was even to do with Snape. He would not kill the man. While it seemed he was not truly on either side, he seemed to be on Harry's side. He could not alter his memory; the man was a master Occlumens, and on top of that, very intelligent. He would notice the side-effects of an altered memory, and would most likely not rest until he had discovered exactly what had been altered.

Pravus had overplayed his hand. Ignoring Snape would have turned out better than this. The only solution left was to either convince Snape to be on his side now, after essentially torturing him, or to imprison him.

The option with the least risk was imprisonment. The man would not be able to tell of Pravus' true nature, if he suffered from a change in heart. Sadly, he and Sebastian were certainly under suspicion by several members of the Order, and they were also last seen with Snape. If Snape were to mysteriously disappear, they would be the first suspects.

He furrowed his brow, continuing to stare a hole in Snape's head, for once at a loss. For the first time since beginning this endeavor, he had no idea what to do.

"And what has you so frustrated?" a smooth voice asked from behind, and he turned to see Sebastian, who had an eyebrow raised in inquiry.

"I did not expect…this," he responded, gesturing at Snape.

Sebastian nodded, as if that made perfect sense with no context. It was not as if he had seen Snape's memories, as Pravus had.

"I have no idea what to do with him now," Pravus admitted.

"Have you thought of simply talking to him?" Sebastian asked mildly.

"Talking to him?" Pravus asked, surprised that Sebastian would even suggest it. "I just spent a few hours literally breaking his mind apart, essentially torturing him, and you think he would talk to me? He would not even talk to me before that, when I gave him the chance."

Sebastian shrugged. "It seems the simplest course of action, as of now, and there is no cost to such a thing. Either way he is still here, and we can do what we must with him." A mischievous glitter filled his eyes. "And did you not plant a seed of doubt, earlier?"

Pravus blinks, surprised. He had completely forgotten about that. Hadn't he told Snape something along the lines of 'Your pain is nothing compared to the pain I suffered?' That could work, provided he handled this correctly.

"Sebastian, I could kiss you right now," he said, grinning. Sebastian smirked at him, satisfied, and asked, "What's stopping you?"

Pravus snorted, before standing up and approaching Sebastian. "That is a good point," he breathed, his eyes fixed on Sebastian's lips, before leaning in a kissing him.

Their lips met in a very satisfying slide, and it was just starting to get interesting when they both heard a groan behind them. Pravus separated himself from Sebastian, glancing back. Snape was stirring, a hand clutching his head, which had to be in agony.

Pravus turned to Sebastian, and requested, "Sebastian, will you bring a pain relieving potion?" Sebastian nodded, turning and leaving the room.

Pravus turned back to Snape, sitting back down on the floor next to the man. He simply looked down at Snape, patiently waiting. Eventually, after several minutes, the man finally gritted out, "Did you enjoy that, Potter? Digging around in your most hated Professor's head?"

Pravus shook his head. He had, in truth, not enjoyed it at all. He actually regretted it, which was unusual for him. "No, I did not. I regret it, in fact."

Snape sneered, the expression just visible past his hands, which were still clutching his head. "Good for you, Potter. Now, would you tell me what the bloody hell you did that for?"

"I had to see your true motivations and goals. It was the only way."

"Of course it was." His voice was as dry as the desert. "Did it not occur to you that you could simply ask?"

Pravus snorted. "I did ask."

"It wasn't much of a chance, now was it?"

Pravus stared down at Snape, a strange expression on his face. "No," he murmured, "I suppose it wasn't." The stilted conversation died out into an awkward silence, wherein Sebastian finally arrived, a vial clasped in hand.

Pravus took it, then held it out to Snape. The man finally removed his hands from his head, staring suspiciously at the vial. "It's a pain relieving potion," Pravus said, "and you can check it if you'd like."

Snape took it, carefully observing its color. He unstopped it, then sniffed. Apparently dubiously satisfied, he drank the potion. The tense line of his shoulders minutely relaxed as the pain faded.

He sat there, a face an unreadable mask. "Who are you?" was the question he settled upon asking. Pravus blinked, then raised an eyebrow.

"Harry Potter," he answered, and Snape shook his head.

"Harry Potter was a foolish Gryffindor with no brains to speak of," he retorted, "but he would also never master any mind art, let alone Legilimancy."

Pravus shrugged. "It came naturally to me."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Let us say that you are, indeed, Harry Potter. What exactly happened to you to make you…this?" he asked, gesturing at Pravus in general.

Inwardly, Pravus smiled. Snape had literally opened the door wide open for Pravus to bring up some sob story of torture and insanity. He had been unsure how to bring it up without seeming suspicious, but Snape had done it for him.

"I was taken," he said, and adopted an expression of grief mixed with rage. "They said they were Eleusinian. They were a part of some sort of cult, convinced that through me there was some way to eternal life. I suppose it had to do with my surviving the killing curse as a babe. They took me, imprisoned me, and…studied me." Here he took a deep breath, feigning forcing the words out as if it were difficult to say these things. "I would have died, eventually, if I hadn't met Sebastian." There, a reason for his attachment and subsequent marriage to Sebastian. "He was imprisoned along with me. Together, we made a plan to escape, and escape we did."

Snape looked dubious, and Pravus did not blame him. The story was a bit farfetched, and Snape was a Slytherin. He had most likely spotted the few holes Pravus had not been able to cover. The story was made up at a moment's notice, after all.

"Why was Sebastian imprisoned by these 'Eleusinians'?" Snape asked.

"I have a…strange sort of magic," Sebastian answered, and Pravus blinked. He had forgotten Sebastian was even present, he had been so quiet. "When I come into contact with the dead, I can communicate with their spirits and even raise them from the grave."

"You're a necromancer," Snape said, sounding shocked, and Sebastian nodded.

"They felt my necromancy was reason enough to imprison and study me also."

Pravus could sense the disbelief rolling off of Snape in waves. It occurred to him that he could, using the actual Snape, create a simulacrum, a copy of Snape, and bring that back with him instead. The simulacrum would be hold under intense scrutiny, but it would only have to pass superficial inspections until something happened to it. Once it was dead, there would be no difference between it and the Snape before him.

It annoyed him that he had not thought of it earlier. He might, eventually, be able to ensure Snape would keep his mouth shut, but this would be a foolproof way.

He stood, and said to Sebastian, "Stay with him," before walking out of the room. He had a simulacrum to create.

Lord Voldemort was very, very happy. The raids on the Order safehouses had been successful. Many order members were dead or gravely injured. It was the first true victory against the Order the Death Eaters had been able to achieve since his return.

He leaned back in his desk chair, hands steepled in front of him as he thought. While he had doubted the truth of the note Pravus had left him, he had taken the risk, and it had paid quite handsomely. Now that he had followed the note, he expected a return visit from Pravus any moment.

He did not know what to think of his former teacher. He was a demon, and as such, could not be trusted, but was there really any choice in the matter? The man could force him to do whatever pleased him, and he could do nothing. Whether he trusted Pravus was irrelevant, really.

His only hope, then, was to do as Pravus asked and to somehow attach Pravus to himself emotionally. He was not so deluded as to think the man would love him, no, but any positive connection at all would hopefully stop Pravus from deciding today was the day of his death.

Thus decided, he waited, a plan forming in his head.

"Did you create a room for Snape?" Pravus asked, and Sebastian nodded.

"He has his own room. I have been watching him. All that is needed now is for you to place the security wards."

Pravus concentrated, weaving magic around the room into a barrier. Snape would not be able to leave the room without either Sebastian or himself.

The security having been placed, Pravus decided it was time to go visit his former student. "Sebastian," he said, "it is time we go visit Voldemort. We have the next stage of the plan to enact, after all."

Sebastian smiled. It was not a pleasant smile.

Pravus watched Voldemort, Sebastian at his side. The man was pacing, hands clasped behind his back, and seemed to be in deep thought. His snakelike persona was gone, and in its place was the admittedly handsome visage of Tom Riddle.

Riddle froze, and Pravus assumed he could feel their eyes on him. Most likely an instinctual reaction.

He stepped forward, and Riddle's eyes instantly met his own. The man did not back down, but instead held his eyes unflinchingly. It was a marked difference from their last encounter. Pravus cocked his head, curious as to what had changed in Riddle's mind to change his own reaction to Pravus so deeply.

"What is it, Tom, that has you so unafraid?" He asked, voice a menacing purr. Riddle held firm, although Pravus could see him clench his teeth for a moment. Ah, so he was having more difficulty meeting his gaze than he would have Pravus believe. Pravus stepped forward, until their faces were barely an inch apart. Riddle's face seemed strained.

"So you are afraid," he said, satisfied, and was about to step back when something flashed through Riddle's eyes. Without warning, the man grabbed Pravus by his shirt, pulling him closer and...kissing him?

Pravus blinked, too shocked at the moment to do anything but remain still.

Riddle pulled back, and Pravus could see uncertainty in his eyes, yet his face remained carefully blank. There was a dark chuckle at his left, and Pravus glanced at Sebastian. The man looked positively delighted, laughter and something more heated in his eyes. "It seems that you have been propositioned, darling," he said amusement clear in his voice. "But," and the possessiveness Pravus had come to know entered his voice here, "I will, of course, be joining you."

Pravus smiled, turning back to Riddle. "I hope you know what you're getting into, Tom," he said, his voice a menacing growl.

Riddle gulped. He may, he admitted to himself, have been a bit hasty in the formulation of this plan.

(A/N): I'll admit, guys, that my passion and drive for this story is pretty much gone, at this point. I thought I could finish it, but I honestly have no idea if I ever will or not. I may just admit defeat and move on. I do have other plot bunnies dancing around in my head, which right now I actually want to write. Writing this story has become a chore.

As of this chapter, this story is officially on hiatus. I may eventually come back to it, and if I do, I will probably redo the entire story from the top down. I went a bit far and made an extreme Mary Sue out of Harry, and that would be the first thing I would fix.

Hopefully, I'll regain my drive for this story, and come back to it. I am sorry to all of you readers who were hoping for it to continue. As a reward for actually liking this story and sticking with it, I put a very gratuitous scene at the end there. ;)