I own nothing but my plot and OCs the rest belongs to J.K.R. I apologize for typos and grammatical errors and I hope you enjoy the story.
The Dark Lord's Shadow
Chapter 1
I couldn't sleep. The harsh pounding rain and wind of the storm kept me up. Glancing at the clock on my wall told me there were two hours until daylight. Giving up altogether on sleep I sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. My room was messy. The floor was littered with chocolate frog wrappers and licorice wands. I was still somewhat unpacking from school a month and a half later. My spellbooks and Slytherin robes were off in the corner by the bay window. I looked over my purple walls and posters of the Hollyhead Harpies, most of my art and sketches were on my walls as well.
I stood and suddenly felt like I could use a drink. I didn't want to trouble Daisy, our family house elf, for some water so I left my room barefoot in my usual pajama shorts and tank top down the grand staircase in the entrance hall. Some of my parents lesser wealthy items were strategically placed down here with my mothers perfect placement disorder. The moonlight filtered through the huge front floor to celing windows reflecting off the expensive vases and diamond chandelier. My bare toes barely touched the marble floor when.. Crack!
"Miss should be wearing her slippers or Miss will catch cold!" Daisy was there with her pillowcase toga and wearing a stern expression on her face.
"It's just to the kitchen, Daisy." I smiled.
"Master Rosier is expecting company soon. Miss should be in bed." Company? At this hour? Maybe one of his bosses from the MInistry? I briefly wondered about the end of the previous school year after the Triwizard Tournament when Harry Potter appeared from the maze with that Hufflepuffs dead body. I had seen no story in the Daily Prophet and even though my parents both worked for the ministry they had not uttered a word around me. I found it strange as they always let me in on Ministry business.
"Miss!" I focused back on Daisy but before I could say anything there was a sudden loud pounding at the massive double front doors. Daisy suddenly looked anxious.
"It's alright, Daisy. Go get my father and I'll see to the door." The house elf hesistated for a moment before vanishing with another loud crack! I smoothed back my tangled black waves of bedhead and undid the locks before opening the door wide. Before I could utter a word the most terrifying looking man slipped past me into the house. He was bald and had grayish skin, red eyes and where his nose should have been were two slits..like a snake. I couldn't take my eyes off of him in wonder or fear I wasn't sure. He towered over me. He opened his mouth and his voice snaked around me in hissing tendrils.
"You must be Rosier's child. I have heard that he had a child." His voice sent new shivers through me and he smirked in amusement when I said nothing still. It had just clicked in my head who this was and sudddenly Harry Potter didn't seem much of a liar anymore. I was standing in front of the Dark Lord himself..Voldemort! There was movement through the doorway and I looked over just now realizing there was another man standing there. One I recognized to be Severus Snape my potions teacher at Hogwarts.
In the sudden cold I realized both men were looking at my informal attire and suddenly I was self concious of so much skin showing in front of the most feared wizard alive..and my teacher.
"My father should be along shortly our house elf just went to get him." I led them both to our dining room and had them sit at the table. I was shaking slightly and I couldn't seem to stop..both of their eyes were still on me.
"I have little patience." The Dark Lord hissed and pulse quickened. I felt it was right to sit across from them and keep them company until father or Daisy arrived. Neither removed their stares as I sat.
"My apologies..my lord. I wasn't aware that guests were arriving so early."
"I would think not, Miss Rosier." Snape chided in. "Leave the adult business to the adults." I didn't take offense to him calling me a child considering I had turned fifteen two weeks ago. Voldemort was now looking me over when I called him 'my lord'.
"Amaya." My father called from the doorway and I looked around to him. "Back to bed." I didn't say a word just silently stood and passed by him in the doorway. I looked back for a second and met Snape's gaze. My father closed the heavy wood door and instead of going upstairs I lingered putting my ear to the wood. The Dark Lord's voice reached me.
"I forgot you had a daughter, Rosier. She will age into a beautiful young woman like Belle. She can do wandless magic?"
"Thank you. Yes, my lord." My father muttered quickly but the snake like man continued.
"She is in Slytherin yes, Severus? What are her potion marks like?" I had to pause for a moment to take in the Dark Lord was asking about my grades.
The Potions Masters deep voice answered.
"Outstanding every year so far. But I hear she exels at Herbology." It sounded as though Snape himself was slightly bragging about my marks.
"Interesting." Voldemort hissed. "On to business then..," I took that as my cue to leave. I got my drink and went back upstairs. I had always secretly suspected my father and Snape of being Death Eaters from past evidence being wealthy and being in my Uncles bloodline. Tonight confirmed it.
I paused halfway up the stairs with my drink in hand watching Daisy open the front door again and a few strangers walked through. Did my mother know of this? Perhaps it was best not to wake her. The last man entered the threshold. I recognized his long white blond hair, black expensive leathers and the serpent cane. Lucius Malfoy, Dracos father. We were good friends, Draco and I. It gave me an idea. I snatched up some spare parchment from my school trunk and scribbed a note.
D,
Your father our Professor and a few others just came for a meeting at my house. What do you know?
,A.
I left out the Dark Lord himself in case the letter was intercepted. Whistling a shrill noise to my barn owl, Remy, I sealed the letter. With a whoosh of wings and wind he landed on my shoulder his talons lightly gripping the muscle there.
"Take this to Draco, yeah?" I asked him. "There'll be treats when you get back." He nipped my earlobe and soared into the summer morning. I watched until he was out of sight. Then I saw moving shapes across the front lawn. I stared shamelessly from my window. My eyes following the Dark Lord himself, Professor Snape and Mr. Malfoy.
On the edge of the property Voldemort and Snape paused to speak quietly to one another. After a few moments they stood up straight and suddenly two pairs of eyes met mine..red and black. I got a strange sudden pressure near my forehead and I suddenly recalled all of my birthdays telling myself how old I was and if I was curious about the dark arts. I had already been to Diagon and Knockturn Alley for my new books and robes for next year re upped on supplies and such. As soon as Draco answered my letter I'd ask if I could floo to his home. In the meantime, a few more hours of sleep wouldn't hurt. Two sudden pops said my front yard was vacant and then my head hit the pillow.
The next afternoon I woke to brilliant sunshine illuminating my room it was too bright to continue sleeping and then the smell of bacon hit me. I floated out of bed messed up and pjs for all the world to see to the dining room table for brunch. My mother was sitting there looking fragile and thin but she greeted me witha warm smile that touched her hazel eyes.
"You're usually dressed and made up before meals." She said.
My father, who was scanning the Daily Prophet put the paper down slowly and gave me a small shake of his head behind my mother. She didn't know about the visitors then.
"It's nice to get a break from the school routine." I said quickly and sat down before a full plate.
"You manage. You're second in your year." I shrugged. I was second to Hermione Granger, one of Potter's best friends. I neither liked nor disliked her. After I inhaled my breakfast I went back upstairs to shower, dress and put on my daily makeup. I met my father and mother as they were coming up.
"You're so beautiful, Darling. What are your plans for today?" My mother was in a really good mood today I wondered if father slipped her a happy pill..he had before.
"Going to wander around the woods sketch some animals or something." I loved being out into nature..my family said I was the only one gifted in my bloodline for generations with a strange affinity for Earth Magic. In the woods I didn't need my wand to do things and even though magic wasn't allowed for underage witches and wizards outside school it was an advantage to have your father in the Ministry so things were overlooked. Most of my secret experimental Earth magic was for learning and practice purposes only, it's not like I was trying to strangle people with giant thorned vines.
We had a massive garden out back that twisted around one side of the house. Fifteen foot garden hedge walls lined the whole backyard alonside the vines and trees of fruit and flowers of every color. The magical and more dangerous plants were around back including aconite, leaping toadstools and one giant venomous tentacula near the water fountain. The harmless muggle plants were in the front like roses, daisies, aloe vera, and blue bells.
In the brilliant sunshine across the garden path I saw a family of multicolored pixies tending to the flowers and broken stems or mending ripped leaves. I reached for my mini sketchbook out of habit to find that I left it upstairs. Tossing my dark hair back in frustration I stood and watched them work. It aggravated me that I still had two years before I do real magic outside of Hogwarts. I lounged around the garden on bare feet feeling one with the earth. I knelt by the fountain out of reach of the tentacula plant which was stretching its thorny vines towards some apples hanging from the next tree. Digging my fingers into the soft soil I closed my eyes and suddenly there were a few fully grown Snap Dragon plants.
"Daisy?"
The familiar pop of the house elf arriving came from behind me.
"Miss is needing Daisy?"
"I need several buckets of raw meat..steak, pork, hamburger..anything. And some dead flies." She vanished without a question. I stood and walked to the fountain cleaning my dirty fingers when Daisy came back with a few buckets of meat and one halfway filled with flies.
"Is Miss feeding the plants again?"
"Of course." I smiled. "Here." I handed her the flies. "Feed the Snap Dragons?"
I took the other buckets of meat to the tentacula. I'd been feeding this same plant for years it was almost like a pet. I tossed one piece of raw steak after the next letting it catch them it its vines or thorny mouth opening. I was careful not to get too close. When the buckets were empty I turned to carry them to the fountain. I stopped dead in my tracks. Professor Snape stared at me and the plant.
"Not how most fifteen year old girls spend their summer holiday." Everyone knew Snape had a temper and little patience and of course the rumors of him favoring Slytherins is a hundred percent true. Better the Gryffindors get his bad side. Here, however, he was not uptight or acting in a teacherly fashion and his tone was the opposite of his usual irritation.
"I could say the same about you, Professor. What brings you to Rosier Manor?" I waved the bucket around to gesture towards my well kept garden. His lip curled up in amusement and before I could stop myself I had blurted my thoughts.
"Why is the Dark Lord meeting with my father? To find my Uncle Evan?" It was well known among the magical folk that my Uncle was a known Death Eater but disappeared without a trace. "Have they found him?"
Snape's face turned emotionless.
"It does not concern your Uncle." I noticed he pretty much side stepped my question and I gave up on getting one so soon.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of the potions master then?" I smiled and walked off to the fountain to clean the blood and grime off my hands and the buckets. He gracefully followed me barely making a sound. He seemed to be thinking deeply about something as he watched me wash up. I noticed one of the pixies was having trouble grabbing a stubborn berry and pulling it off the vine. I plucked it easily and handed it out to her. The little girl snatched the fruit and with a hum she flew away her wings leaving a glittering trail behind her.
"You are quite kind." He muttered thoughtfully.
"I've been known to have a mean streak. Did my parents send you out here to watch me? Sometimes they worry about me around the tentacula but I really don't believe it would harm me."
Snape grunted in amusement. " I don't believe it would harm you either and no I am meant to be your escort to Malfoy manor. Did you not sent a letter last night?"
"I did. Didn't I?" Then I remembered standing by my open window after I sent Remy into the night.
"Did the Dark Lord perform legilimency on me? Or was it you? WHy would either of you care how old I am?" I was a Slytherin who knew how other dark wizards ticked with their strange morals or lack of them. For what reason did the Dark Lord and Snape have to hold back? None.
"If you'd like to clean and change we shall be using floo powder." With that being said he turned and with his black robes flapping behind him he strode around the side garden path back to the front of the house.
I made my way hurriedly down the staircase watching Snape and my parents speaking by the front doors. I watched my Professor kiss my mothers hand and then his back eyes landed on me.
"Ready to go, girl?" He asked.
"Be back for dinner." My mother said dreamily. "You look beautiful." I blushed before hurrying ahead into the living room. Grabbing a pinch of floo powder I stepped in the fireplace. Our hearth was huge enough to fit six grown men if they all traveled to the same place but that still didn't prepare me for Snape suddenly stepping in beside me. I had questions I knew he could answer I briefly wondered what is was like to be able to enter a mind and reveal all their thoughts and secrets. Id practice on him, a voice inside my head said. He has tons of secrets.
"Any day now, Miss Rosier." He drawled.
"Malfoy Manor!" I said clearly and with the grace my mother drilled into me as a child sprinked the powder at our feet. Suddenly, we were whooshing fast past open hearths too fast for the eye to see. It made my stomach flip pleasantly. A sudden shock of pain hit me and I gasped, grabbing my shoulder. I looked at the bloody scratch and my torn white shirt. I should've tucked my arms in more. We hit the bottom of the stone hearth.
As we stepped out Snape took it upon himself to wrap his hand around my arm and mutter a healing spell...I watched it vanish in seconds.
"Thank you, good sir." I said rather playfully and the next second Draco was entering the huge, darkly decorated room.
"Professor..Amaya."
I rolled my eyes. "Cut the formalities, Draco. You know what I'm here for." I hinted towards the letter. He glanced behind me at Snape and smiled.
"Of course. Where there's food you can find Amaya Rhiannon Rosier, heiress to the Rosier fortune with a treacle tart in her mouth." I prepared to snap back at him but was drowned out by their house elf, Blue.
"Lunch is served!"
I walked wordlessly past Malfoy and his gales of laughter. No offense to Daisy but Blue made bomb ass soup and homemade breadsticks.
"Father will be along shortly, Professor. You're more more than welcome to eat with us."
"Thank you, Draco but I have business after I speak with Lucius. I trust you can get home on your own, Miss Rosier?"
I turned with my mouth full of breadstick and nodded.
"Do you eat at all the high class parties like that?" Draco teased. "I bet all the lords want to court you."
"You know I'm hot." I joked through a full mouth. It was enough of a conversation change for Snape to make his way to Lucius which left us to talk freely about my letter.
"I sent Remy back this morning." He had lowered his voice.
"The Dark Lord himself came to my house around four this morning along with Snape and your father."
"Meetings were obviously going to start. They aren't going to wait for that idiot Dumbledore and Saint Potter to make they're moves first."
I didn't know how I felt about all this. I didn't feel hatred or disgust towards muggle borns like Death Eaters. My family thought that way..the Malfoys thought that way. But I didn't..I don't.
"It was just weird. He asked about my grades and I don't know I froze in his precense. I was helpless. He proabably thought me incompetent."
"That might be a good thing, Amaya. It would be best not to draw attention when it comes to him."