Iain held his wand between his index and middle fingers.
The tip rested against Snape's throat.
Right beneath his Adam's apple.
That eerie green glow, the effortless nonverbal casting, and the secrets spilling from the boy's mouth all made the panic inside Snape grow heavier and heavier.
"Impossible… absolutely impossible…" Snape knelt on the floor, one arm clutching Lily Potter's skull, the other braced against the ground, his whole body trembling. His eyes stayed fixed on Iain's face, then on those eyes, then on the green light at the tip of the wand.
"Hm?"
Iain leaned forward slightly, pressing the wand in a little harder. The tip nudged Snape's throat, rising and falling faintly with every swallow.
"Severus Snape, celebrated Potions master…" Iain's voice dropped lower, low enough to sound like a whisper directly in Snape's ear. "And yet you still refuse to believe the great Dark Lord could conquer Death and return from it?"
A perfect amount of mockery laced the boy's murmur.
"It seems leaving you at Dumbledore's side has made you every bit as foolish as he is."
"The Dark Lord… the Dark Lord could never command a phoenix. You cannot possibly be him!" Snape's voice shook, but he was still desperately trying to convince himself.
"Oh? Is taming a phoenix really that difficult? Has it occurred to you that Fawkes has always been mine? I mean, he has always been my bird."
"Fawkes is just like you. He was merely planted at Dumbledore's side. If you do not believe me, ask him. Clumsy old Dumbledore has been surrounded by my people for years."
Even when he hurriedly rephrased that last part, Iain's sneer did not falter. He shot Fawkes a warning glance, and the phoenix, watching the performance with visible resignation, gave a small nod.
"??????"
Snape's already shaken gaze dropped from Iain's face to the skull still held tightly in his arms.
Iain changed the subject with deliberate care.
"Lily Potter." He reached out, fingertips brushing the cold bone of her forehead. His hand paused briefly over a tiny crack there.
"I gave her a chance." His voice softened, almost as though he were speaking to himself. "I truly did. I honored my promise to you. I told her to move aside and stop trying to stand in my way."
"But she refused."
That, too, was a secret.
Snape's pupils widened. His breathing grew ragged, his chest heaving. His lips trembled, but he bit down hard enough to keep from making a sound.
"Of course, her power did surprise me. Still, I owe her my thanks. Without that sudden burst of ancient magic from her, I never would have seen Death… and I never would have defeated it. Severus, I have returned. Whether you like it or not, you must accept that."
Iain withdrew his hand and looked down at the man kneeling before him.
"Give Lily to me."
It was not a request.
Snape's arms tightened instinctively around the skull. The bone pressed harder against his chest, his knuckles whitening.
"You do not want to?" Iain narrowed his eyes. His tone turned glacial. "I know ten thousand ways to seize her soul. I could simply stuff it into my Soul Banner."
He spoke slowly, almost conversationally. "Ah, yes, you may not know what a Soul Banner is. I only came up with it recently."
"A Soul Banner can command the dead and amplify my magic. The more souls I enslave, the stronger I become. So…" His gaze sharpened. "Are you truly going to refuse me?"
The stolen language of a different dark tradition hit Snape like a physical blow. The Western Potions master trembled all over again.
"A dark artifact that enslaves souls…" Snape's face lost the last of its color. His lips quivered, his pupils jittering wildly in his sockets.
It was him. It really was the Dark Lord.
Something that vile could only have come from the mind of the Dark Lord.
"No… no, my lord… please…" Snape broke completely. He begged. On his knees, before Iain, he looked every bit like the servant of a returned Dark Lord.
Iain said nothing.
He simply reached down and took the skull from Snape's hands. Snape had no strength left to resist. His fingers twitched the moment the skull left them, like a man letting go of the last thing he had in the world.
Iain himself had not expected the Voldemort act to work so easily. Clearly, his talent was Oscar-worthy.
Inside, he was thrilled. On the outside, he merely let out a soft, contemptuous laugh.
"I have never been cruel to a loyal servant."
Cradling the skull, Iain looked down at Snape and deliberately eased his tone. "As long as you continue proving your value, I may one day allow Lily to return to life."
"Just as I did."
Three parts temptation, three parts mockery, three parts amusement. No one really knew what that tone was supposed to sound like, but Iain thought he was doing brilliantly.
Snape shook again.
The familiar pressure, the familiar impossible promise, the same way of dangling a miracle just out of reach… it was enough. Voldemort had come back, alive, in the body of a child.
Snape had no doubts left.
"Thank you, my lord… thank you, my lord…"
Tears and snot ran together as he repeated it over and over.
"Return to Hogwarts." Iain disliked being worshipped, so he flicked a hand dismissively. His voice was quiet, but absolutely final.
"Continue your infiltration. From this day forward, your codename is Abyss. Unless I give you direct orders in person, ignore anyone who comes to you."
"Including anyone claiming to be some knockoff version of me."
"Your first priority is keeping your identity hidden. That is essential. When term begins and you see me, do not show any reaction at all."
"As for why I am returning to Hogwarts, I have my own plans."
Muttering that to himself as much as to Snape, Iain delivered the Dark Lord's new orders.
"Yes. Yes, of course."
Snape nodded quickly.
He did not ask what the plan was.
The Dark Lord's plans were not his place to question.
Since Iain had already waved him away, Snape rose and obediently left. On his way out, he even pulled the door shut behind him with care.
A far cry from the way he had stormed in.
Iain stayed where he was, cradling the skull, watching the door close.
Then he let out a long breath.
"I really am a genius actor."
His voice snapped right back to normal, and the whole crooked-smile Dragon King routine returned instantly. He was utterly different now from the cold-eyed "Dark Lord" of a moment ago, as if they were two separate people.
The diary floated up out of his trousers and hovered beside his shoulder. It opened. Ink appeared slowly across the page.
[Dumbledore will expose you.]
Iain lowered his head and looked at the skull in his hands.
Lily Potter's skull.
He lifted it to eye level, turned it half a circle, studied the crack across the forehead, then turned it back again.
"I only need a little time," he said. "Time to study your figurine-making methods so I can give Aunt Lily realistic flesh and blood. Then she can open her mouth and plead my case for me."
Iain always had a plan.
[And you are certain Lily Potter would help you?]
Iain tilted his head and thought about that.
"I do not know Aunt Lily," he admitted. "But I do understand a mother's love."
Now it was his turn to speak in riddles.
He smiled and carried the skull farther into the room.
"When I finish my research on simulating real flesh and blood, you will be able to grow flesh too, even without being loved. That is the power of alchemy."
As he said it, he casually tossed the little skeleton a promise of its own.
"Click?"
The little skeleton froze for a second, then went back to cleaning. It seemed to have developed mild cleanliness issues. Without hesitation, it snatched up the pillow Snape had used and threw it straight into the rubbish bin.
To be fair, the grease from Snape's hair was genuinely horrifying.