Pairings: Draco Malfoy/OC, Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley.
A/N: In this story, the following...
- Dolores Umbridge came and left Hogwarts two weeks before Harry and his year did their OWLs.
- Severus Snape fills in as DADA and Potions professor until the end of the year.
- Pansy Parkinson is a brunette.
- Draco Malfoy doesn't become a Death Eater until the Christmas of his sixth year, so all that stuff with the mending of the Vanishing Cabinet and Dumbledore doesn't happen until after Christmas.
- The House Cup Tournament doesn't start until the beginning of sixth year, which will be in a few chapters from now. Just some transitional chapters to fill in some missing information.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter world, etc etc, I only own this plot and the Blackwater's.
Doubting the Dark: Prologue
"Charles, I will give you one last chance to accept," whispered the Dark Lord.
Lexy was blinded by the darkness, being shoved into a murky corner; she saw only the vague outlines of the figures moving around in the dim light. She was bound to a rickety chair, around her ankles and her wrists behind her. Lexy squirmed despite the magic that fixed her wrists together tore into her skin every time she moved. Her husband stood in the middle of the bare room, paralyzed by magic, the room lit by only one oil lamp. Voldemort circled the man, his black robes gliding against the hardwood floor. The walls of the room were lined by Death Eaters; all hooded and masked.
"Don't do it, Charles!" exclaimed Lexy.
"Shut up, you stupid woman," Voldemort spat in her direction. "Silencio! Crucio!"
Charles didn't have to hear or see his wife but he knew that she probably wanted to die at that moment.
"STOP IT!" yelled Charles.
"Stop what, the silencing charm? Of course," said Voldemort, waving his wand. Blood curdling shrieks erupted from the corner as Voldemort laughed evilly.
"Reconsidering yet, Mister Blackwater?"
"Please stop, I'm begging you," cried the man. His face was twisted up with the pain that Lexy was experiencing. She writhed in the chair, crying out in pain. A nearby Death Eater slapped her across the face, knocking her over and on to her side. Voldemort stopped pacing and stood directly in front of Charles, leaning in so that their noses almost touched.
"Give me one good reason why I should," Voldemort hissed.
"She's pregnant," Charles breathed. "She's 6 months pregnant."
Voldemort pulled back. Lexy stopped screaming. The room was quiet.
"Give me your first born child, and I will let you and your wife live. If not..." the Dark Lord proposed, trailing off, his eyes narrowing. The two men locked gazes and Voldemort's stare seemed to go through Charles' eyes and into his mind, probing around.
"No," Charles said, his gaze was firm.
"You will give me your first born child," murmured Voldemort. He waved his wand and Lexy was suddenly pulled into the middle of the room in her chair.
"Never," Charles retaliated. He quietly thanked the heavens for the power of Occlumency. Voldemort laughed again, sending chills down Charles' spine. The chair that Lexy was strapped to disappeared and she was dumped onto the floor at Charles' feet, breathing hard.
'It's going to be okay,' Lexy thought to Charles. She saw him swallow nervously.
Suddenly, Lexy started to scream again, her eyes rolling to back of her head and she wildly thrashed against the floor.
"Your wife is awfully vocal," said Voldemort. He crouched down and took Lexy's chin between his forefinger and thumb. "Such a waste of talent, you two could be a great addition to our side."
"We have no interest in joining your little posse," said Charles.
"So be it," said Voldemort, dropping Lexy onto the floor again. "Avada Kedavra."
A thick beam of neon green light hit Charles square in the chest. He dropped to the floor with a thud, lifeless and limp. Lexy started to sob, her chest heaving against the floor, but the Death Eaters remained motionless.
"Malfoy," called Voldemort. The said Death Eater stepped forward.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Take care of this. If you all must gossip about this..." the Dark Lord said, gesturing to Charles' and Lexy's bodies on the floor, "...ordeal, do not speak of the Blackwater name."
With that, he exited the room with Peter Pettigrew closely following.