Chapter 35

[Diagon Alley.]

Opening the door, Severus finally took a deep breath as he saw the familiar interior. "Home… sweet home… It's only been three days, and I already miss this calm feeling when I don't have to pretend and I can be myself."

"You didn't really pretend, " getting out of the sleeve, Nagini crawled into the kitchen. "I wouldn't say so. Slughorn is one thing, and with some, I gradually changed relations, but with others, I still try to be quieter than water, lower than grass, and even within my house I don't really communicate much, with the exception of Regulus ... somehow he reminds me of one of my good friends."

"Aren't you with him because of that bitch?"

"Bitch…huh... that's putting it mildly: she's a real crazy witch, but... I have such strange tastes, I can't do anything about it. As for Regulus… that's just one of the reasons," while watching the snake crawling around the refrigerator with a smile, the young man headed towards the stairs. 

" I'll be on the second floor in the training room. Just call me if you need anything."

"Okay…"

Climbing to the second floor, he stood in front of a smooth wall and jabbed his finger at it several times, and a magic circle appeared on an empty place, on which he placed his palm, and the next moment a door materialised on the right.

Behind the door was a small room, which after a few seconds began to expand exponentially.

"So… it's time to get to work…" a vial of blood appeared in his hand, which he simply began to spill on the floor, and after the last drop fell, he threw the vial into the wallet and directed his palms towards it(blood).

The blood quickly moved and began to spread across the floor, forming a pattern in the form of a circle, in which various symbols began to form, especially the one in the centre, in a small circle of runes.

It was the head of a dragon with glowing turquoise eyes. "The first part is ready, and now the second one…" as soon as the runic circle flared up, a massive dragon's heart fell right into the centre, at the same second it slowly began to disintegrate into small particles, folding into the image of a dragon with a long tail studded with spikes and a rather frightening muzzle, also covered with them, but, oddly enough, Severus  was not scared at all by the growling "dragon", instead the image caused him a slight disappointment. 

"Not the best specimen, but there is no choice, I will have to be content with this…" He joined his palms, and the image of the dragon began to shrink sharply, and the heart disintegrated faster and faster.

All this was accompanied by an angry roar of the dragon and a wave of uncontrollable magical power, bursting at the Archmage and trying to penetrate his mind… It was obviously unsuccessful and finally the heart completely dissolved, and in its place only a dark yellow crystal remained, emitting a warm, but at the same time terrifying aura.

"Though it still worked out well." Taking out a small box, he moved it inside and slammed it shut, sending it back into the wallet. "A little rest, and it will be necessary to start the second ritual, eh ... what a troublesome job it is: it eats up almost all mental strength ..."

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Closer to ten o'clock in the evening, while the Archmage was going about his business, Nagini decided to stay on the ground floor so as not to disturb him, and the faintly perceptible streams of a frightening aura escaping from the room were very unpleasant for a snake too sensitive to them.

Lying on the sofa that Severus  put in place of the tables, she snored softly, but after a few seconds, the former human sharply opened her eyes when she heard the sound of the front door opening.

"Thief…? No, he wouldn't sneak through the front door, which means…" She raised her head and saw a woman in a dark dress, with long dark hair, scowling around the room without letting go of her wand. 

"Bella... what did he see in her?''Nagini thought displeased, in her eyes a slight feeling of jealousy flared up. 

"Hm?" Continuing to look around, Black finally drew attention to the sofa, from which a snake of an acid-green hue was looking at her.

"Colour ... she is very poisonous, he has an interesting pet," she pointed her wand at her with a grin.

"I wonder if I kill you, will he get very angry?" Nagini saw a sparkle in the woman's eyes that did not bode well and her "smile", and shifting her gaze to the wand pointed at herself, Nagina only snorted contemptuously.

"If she attacks me now, I can shamelessly bite her…" the snake hissed rather squinting, sticking out its tongue, without taking the first step because she did not know how Severus  would react to this, but she was sure that it was not positive.

"What are you staring at? Do you really want to get it?"

"~ Hessssss… (try it you bitch)."

"Hm! Do you want me to attack?" In response to the woman's grin, Nagini narrowed her eyes and hissed again in her direction. But at that moment, the sound of footsteps was heard from the side of the stairs, and after that, a voice so hated by Bella sounded.

"I see you've already met Nagini." Severus  looked at them with a smile, feeling a slight sense of disappointment from his snake.

"You know, if you were even a little late, you would only find a dead reptile in this place."

"Don't be so sure: if she wanted to, you would have lost your life long ago," passing by a woman slightly hurt by such words, he sat down next to Nagaina, who rather quickly crawled onto his knees. "And you behaved unwisely: of course, I would not have done anything to you if she had attacked first, but I would still have been offended."

"~ Tch!" Nagini moved her head.

"Okay, let's go," looking up at the gloomy Bella, he smiled warmly at her and stared at her expectantly. "My Lord wants to meet you, and also…" her face turned so sour at the next words that it felt like she had eaten a whole lemon, "…do you a great honour and offer you a place among the Death Eaters."

"Oh."

"And this is the whole reaction?" Bellatrix glared at him.

"And what should it be? Should I be jumping up and down in happiness? Forgive me, little one, but I refuse to do so. I do not want to brand myself with a slave seal: my freedom is dear to me."

"How dare you call 'it' a slave seal!" Bella exclaimed furiously, pointing her trembling wand at him. "I call it what it really is, and I have no great desire to become a chess piece in a game between Dumbledore and Voldemort. Why should I limit myself to this when I can become the third king?"

"Means, do you want to be our enemy?" Narrowing her eyes, the woman growled.

"God forbid, why do I need this? I'll leave the country as soon as I finish Hogwarts: I'm not interested in your war game, even if you bite each other's throats, but you …" rising from the sofa, under a displeased hiss, he approached Bella, standing close to her, and touched her cheek.

"You're quite another thing, how about coming over to my side?" But instead of the expected fury and an attempt to kill him on the spot, she laughed out loud, slightly perplexing the Archmage.

"To a half-blood like you? Having neither power, nor wealth, nor even influence?" 

"Is that so, so if I have all this, you will become mine?" the archmage drawled with a predatory squinting, in a sugary-sweet voice, from which goosebumps went down the woman's back.

"Okay, I can accept your condition, but why should I agree to all this?"

"I will stop the supply of the potion. Why should I help your group if I don't get anything out of it?" Severus countered.

"Good! If you can achieve this, I will agree to your terms! But if you can't in two years, then you will become my slave and you will do everything I say, do you dare to accept these conditions?" she looked into his eyes with a contemptuous grin, while feeling slight displeasure inside, not seeing even a shred of fear on Severus 's face.

"No problem, but I'll also require something as 'evidence' of our dispute."

"Tch! Do it, I want to get it over with quickly!" Severus  raised an eyebrow in puzzlement when he saw her rise up on her toes and close her eyes.

"Well, since you ask, I won't refuse," pulling the woman to him, he covered her lips with his, while his hands immediately fell on Bella's thin waist. But she did not get off with a simple kiss. When one of his hands pressed to the back of her head, and the tongue penetrated her mouth, Bella could not contain the shock and the second their tongues met, she tried to bite him again, but it was to no avail: the tongue was so strong that she could not could do nothing, and although she made attempts to push him away, but the forces were too unequal, and she had no choice but to endure this "invasion",

"pervert!" Nagini from the sofa hissed but the young man ignored Nagini's dissatisfied cry.

"Liked it?" Recovering herself, she abruptly pushed the Archmage away from her and with real fury pointed her wand at him, from which only a couple of sparks escaped.

"Liked?! Yes, I will fucking kill you right now!" 

"You suggested it yourself," he shrugged indifferently, examining the dark necklace in his hand with interest. "Actually, I talked about it."

"This is ... GIVE IT BACK! This is a gift from the Dark Lord! How dare you touch it with your dirty hands?!" 

"Hm? Is that so? Then I shall take it as "evidence" of our dispute" and it disappeared from his hand, and in its place appeared another necklace of the exact same design.

"Here, as a temporary replacement. And you should not throw empty threats at me: if you wanted to do this, you would use the dagger hidden on your left side, which you could easily reach." Feeling Bella's burning eyes on him, he couldn't help but smile. 

"Once you become my slave, your life will turn into hell!" snatching the fake necklace from his hand, stomping loudly, she left the house. Not before slamming the door though.