Winterverse Chapter 1: Exit, a harry potter fanfic

Welcome! Here are some ficlets, in the AU Verse of my fics A Captive Path/Loon In Winter. Mostly, these are moments outside of the plot of that story. Some will be happy, some will be sad, some smutty, some horrifying. This one fits the latter description. This one is short and violent. You've been warned.

He went deeper into black,

Deeper into white,

Could see the stars shining

Like nails in the night

He felt the healing,

Healing, healing

Healing hands of love like the stars

Shining shining from above

Hand in the pocket,

Finger on the steel,

The pistol weighed heavy

His heart he could feel

Was beating, beating,

Beating, beating oh my love

Oh my love

Oh my love…

Exit

by May

Zacharias Smith was leaning against the side of the carriage, watching the docks under the moonlight. Far out on the ocean, he could just barely make out the pin-prick of light bobbing around on the water. The boat carrying their cargo was drawing nearer. Zach shifted his weight from one foot to the other, taking a drag of the cigarette in his fingers. From the top of the carriage, he could sense Sturgis watching him. He could even sense the frown on the older man's face. Living long enough in close quarters with someone will give one those sorts of abilities.

"Since when did you start smoking?" Sturgis asked. Looking up at his girlfriend's stepfather in the semi-darkness, Zach shrugged.

"Grabbed a pack out of a muggle shop a while back," He said by way of explanation, "They're good for nerves."

"I catch you smoking around my son, there'll be hell to pay." Sturgis grumbled. Zacharias rolled his eyes, out of habit, but had to hand it to the bloke, at least he never tried to tell Zach what to do…or what not to do, as it were. Sturgis Podmore treated him like the legal adult that he was, which was more than Zach could say for most people. He looked out at the ocean again. The light was getting closer.

His eyes were drawn then to the tall, thin figure who was standing apart from them, closer to the actual dock. Bianca had insisted on being here, though Zach couldn't fathom why. She said Antonin had sent her a letter, asking her to be there, but that wasn't much of an explanation. From what he'd observed, the younger girl feared and hated the man as much as the rest of them did…probably more, though right now, the angry young man found it hard to believe. Watching her only made him angrier, too.

She was only seventeen, but her eyes were as wide and haunted as Alice Longbottom's. There were dark circles under those eyes, and faint scars still marred the flesh under her robes. Bianca spoke in disjointed sentences, her thoughts never really coming together anymore. She had always been rather child-like in school, but after the abuse Antonin had subjected her to, talking to her now was much like talking to a little girl, one who did not like to be touched, and that was when she was having a good day. A good day for Bianca was one during which she could retreat back to her world of dolls and tea parties. Today was not one of those days. She wrapped her arms around herself, her fingernails digging into her arms, the wind blowing back her cowl, catching her long, scraggly red hair.

Zach felt that anger growing inside of him as he observed her, hot and boiling in his chest. But it wasn't simply for her sake. It was because Bianca represented what Megan had almost become. Back when they were still in school, Antonin Dolohov had kidnapped her and then been forced to return her, her memory wiped of everything that had happened. But that was a torture in and of itself, the not knowing. A medical examination had only been able to assure her of so much, and Antonin had tortured her from afar with half-truths and taunting and attempts to capture her again.

What had he really done to Megan? Perhaps they would never know. What were the possibilities, though? Bianca embodied all of them. Raped. Beaten on a regular basis. Hexed for Antonin's amusement. Chained to a wall in his basement, when he wasn't using her. Three other girls had endured the same treatment before Bianca, and all three of them had died. The only reason Bianca had survived was because the war had ended, and her captor had been captured before he'd finished with her. Zacharias tossed his cigarette on the ground, grinding it into the cobblestones with unnecessary force.

It could have been Megan.

It may have been Megan.

"They're pulling in," Sturgis' voice broke into Zach's ponderings, and the young man started, looking back towards the dock. A rope was being tied off, as two of the boat's occupants disembarked. Sturgis jumped down from the carriage, and Zach followed him to the dock, just as the two guards from Azkaban were pulling their prisoner onto the landing.

"Evening, Podmore," Kingsley greeted Sturgis quietly, and the two men exchanged pleasantries. But Zacharias only had eyes for the tall man standing before him, bound in a straight-jacket and leg-irons. Antonin Dolohov met his gaze, his own eyes blazing and cruel. He wasn't in good shape, Zach noted with pleasure. Antonin was missing an arm, his face was deeply scarred, and if what Zack had heard was true, he'd sustained massive internal injuries during the battle for London. Zach couldn't help the small, cold smirk that crossed his features.

"Where's the girl?" Antonin rasped, looking over Zach's shoulder. Bianca stepped toward them, and Zach almost moved to stop her before she got too close, but she didn't. She stayed just within easy hearing range, but came no further. Antonin glared at her, noting her empty-handed state. "I told you to bring my son!"

"Andrei is my son now," Bianca informed him, her voice small and wavering, but clear. Her arms stayed crossed, her hands still clutching her arms, but she met the Death Eater's eyes steadily. "The Ministry has given him to me, as long as I stay with others. He is mine," A rather delirious giggle left her lips, "Mine mine mine, my boy-child-doll-thing…" Antonin growled, but Bianca went on, as if she hadn't heard him, "I came here to tell you that. And that you will never see him ever again," A lop-sided grin spread over her mouth at that, "Never ever ever. I win, Mister Monster Man…"

She backed away, as Kingsley took his leave, leaving Sturgis and Zacharias in charge of the prisoner. Zach looked behind him as they led the Death Eater away, to see Bianca smiling at him as she apparated back home. Well, if Crazyface could face down her demon…

"I'll ride inside," Zach said firmly, his voice emotionless. Sturgis glanced at him sideways, as he opened the carriage door and shoved Antonin inside.

"You sure?" The older man asked seriously. Zach nodded once, not tearing his eyes away from the prisoner who sat seething in the carriage. Sturgis said no more, only climbed up into the drivers seat, waiting until Zach was inside before urging the Thestrals forward.

"How kind of you to keep me company, Zacharias," Antonin said, lightly, "It has been so long since we've had a chance to catch up."

"I'm not talking to you," Zach replied, darkly, keeping his eyes on the countryside passing them by. Antonin did not pursue the matter, at least not at that moment. The Death Eater was deadly silent, in fact, the only sound his breathing, his eyes practically burning a hole in the carriage side, over Zach's shoulder. Clearly, Antonin was still seething over Bianca's betrayal. As if he could have expected anything else from a girl he'd so viciously abused.

In the silence, Zacharias found himself thinking back to the brief time when he himself had been Antonin's prisoner. Certainly a different kind of experience than Bianca or Megan's, that was certain, but harrowing nonetheless. Antonin had caught him unawares in London, and, using him as leverage to make Megan hand herself over, had proceeded to torture Zacharias through a few rounds of crucio, and a few broken fingers. Zach absently flexed his fingers in the moonlight, at the memory. His friends had rescued him that time, but it had been close. Both he and the girl he loved could have ended up dying painful, excruciatingly slow deaths.

Zach glared into the night, that burning feeling returning once more. How did a human being do that, to another human being? He glanced back at Antonin, at the twisted, hallow man in front of him with blazing eyes, thinking of all the ways he'd like to make the man hurt. Zach huffed, shaking his head and reaching for the pack in his pocket again. At that gesture, Antonin seemed to snap out of his trance, watching the young man with interest.

"That is a nasty habit, you know," Antonin informed him airily, "It will kill you. At least I would have done so more quickly."

"And painfully," Zach glared, "Shut your fucking mouth."

"And you kiss her with those lips?" Antonin sneered, "Lips that taste of nicotine and obscenities, oh I can see why little red preferred you to me, utterly."

"I said," Zach had his wand trained on his prisoner in half a moment's time, speaking through clenched teeth, "Shut up."

"Oh come off it," Antonin sighed, "You've not the stomach to hex me." Zach was silent though, turning his glare back out the window as the landscape continued to rush past them. It was a remote area, far outside of London. There were certainly faster ways between Azkaban and The Ministry, but all of them offered far too many chances for a wizard prisoner to escape. Transport of prisoners was done the old-fashioned, non-magical way. Both Zacharias and Antonin knew that meant they would be suffering each other for quite a while yet.

"You know…" Antonin began again, after a good half hour. Zach did not look away from the window. "If I am locked away forever…(or perhaps even sentenced to death, who can know how things have changed)…you will never know for sure, will you?" Zach knew he was being bated, but even as his anger simmered, he did not rise. Not yet. Antonin did not wait. "You'll always be wondering. And so will she, for the rest of your lives. Haunting her dreams, standing in the way of your intimacy…" A slow smile spread over Antonin's cruelly twisted mouth, "There will be me."

Zach couldn't contain himself. He finally turned, looking the man in the eye, a torrent of emotions fighting for supremacy in his own eyes. Anger. Revulsion. Fear. He took a deep breath, "What did you do to her?"

"My secret, to keep until I die." Antonin sat back with a satisfied smirk. "Give me at least that much pleasure before I meet my doom."

Zach's face twisted with fury. Pleasure. His teeth grinding together for a moment, Zach called out, tapping the side of the carriage, "Sturgis!" He called, "Stop here!"

They stopped by an old shack on side of the road, surrounded by trees. Up the hill from the road there was a rather large house, and the shack must have been where the owners had kept their firewood. The house, of course, was silent and dark now, the shack and the grounds long-deserted ever since Voldemort's campaign. Sturgis steadied the Thestrals, then hopped down to the ground just as Zacharias was dragging Antonin out of the carriage.

"Give me your wand, Zach," Sturgis said firmly. Zach turned on him, fuming and looking ready to fight Megan's stepfather if he got in the way, but Sturgis only went on, calmly, "If anyone finds any curses on your wand that, legally, shouldn't be there, it won't go well for you in court."

Zach paused, knowing Sturgis was right. Swallowing, and still keeping a steady hold on the buckles of Antonin's straight-jacket, he handed Sturgis his wand. The older man pocketed the item. He didn't say anything more, only gave Zach a long, hard stare, before turning, walking around the carriage and leaning against the side that faced away from the shack. Out of sight, and out of hearing.

With Antonin laughing maniacally at his side, Zach strode toward the shack, around to the side hidden from the road. A space was cleared in the trees, in the center of which was placed a chopping block, an axe wedged into it. Zach shoved Antonin down on the ground, and without his remaining arm free to steady himself, The Death Eater hit the earth hard, the wind knocking out of him. "Stand up!" Zach shouted, pacing back and forth in front of the man with barely restrained hatred. With a great amount of effort, Antonin was able to push himself up, swaying on his feet as he did.

"Hardly a way to treat an injured man," He rasped, his breathing labored, but his eyes boring into Zacharias like heated knives. The younger man only surged forward, his fist connecting hard with Antonin's jaw. The Death Eater staggered back, blood spurting out of his mouth, along with two molars. Zach just shook his fist, feeling only a slight tingle of pain through the adrenaline.

"Tell me what you did!" He shouted again, as Antonin spit out the blood pooling in his mouth. The Death Eater grinned, a ghastly sight with the blood that was now running down his chin.

"Everything, and nothing," Antonin replied cheerily, his voice graveled. Zach's knee connected with his groin, hard, and the Death Eater doubled over.

"TELL ME!" Zach yelled, kicking the other man in the side a few times for good measure, before hauling him upright by his black hair, throwing another few punches to connect with his nose and jaw, only pausing when he heard Antonin's nose break.

"I wonder," Antonin labored to breathe, forced to his knees in the clearing. His face was starting to swell, blood was pouring from his nose and mouth, and he was nursing more than a few broken ribs. "Is this only for her? Or are you really that upset over a few broken fingers?"

Zacharias was beyond the point of rational thought, however. He'd fully embraced the burning furnace in his heart, and his only response to Antonin's suggestion that this was anything less than revenge for Megan and any other girl the man had hurt only spurred him further. That the Death Eater's words might have struck a chord was not a thought Zach cared to entertain. He only dove in for another round, viciously pounding his fists into Antonin's face and stomach.

When the man was hardly able to breath any longer for all the blood that was filling his mouth and lungs, Zacharias dragged him to the chopping block without even stopping to consider what, exactly, he was doing. "You…" Antonin struggled with the words, his voice entirely unrecognizable now, with many teeth missing, blood choking his throat and his nose completely crushed, "What does this make you, then?" He grinned, or at least managed a grotesque parody of a grin.

"Shut up!" Zach yelled, paths on his face now where hot tears of elated rage had fallen and dried. Antonin coughed on a laugh, watching the boy yank the axe out of the block. The blade had a little rust on it in places, but it was still sharp.

"Why?" Antonin shrugged, and then coughed, blood spattering over the chopping block as he did. "I'll die a monster, the monster I made myself to be," He wheezed, as Zach hesitated, hefting the weight of the axe in his hands, "What sort of monster will little Zachy Smith go home as tonight, hmm?"

Zacharias Smith stared out into the trees, the inferno inside of him as hot as ever, though his moral half did manage to war with it, if only for a moment. The boy looked down at his knuckles. They were cracked and bloody, and shards of bone were stuck in one or two places, into his flesh. Zach licked his lips, turning his wrathful eye back to Antonin, who lay there on the block, grinning up at him like some wretched, wicked fool. Zach hardly recognized his own voice, low and dark and nearly void of any human warmth whatsoever, "What did you do to her?"

Antonin took a deep breath, looking up at his executioner. Then he let it out in a sigh, reclining back against the block, staring up at the night sky thoughtfully. "Nothing." He said at last, "I hardly got to touch her." Stunned, Zach stared down at the man, and Antonin took that moment to look back up at his face, grinning through his blood and bone, "Tell her I said goodbye."

The furnace blazed. Zacharias brought the axe head down with all the primal rage that dwelt within him. And then he brought it down a few times more, for good measure.

Sturgis said nothing, when he returned. Zach knew he was covered in blood, almost none of it his own, but he said nothing back. The two men simply looked at each other for a long time, before Sturgis handed him back his wand, turned, and climbed back into the driver's seat. Zach said a quick cleaning spell over himself, the strongest one he knew, before climbing into the carriage himself. The transport started moving, and Zach slumped back in his seat, feeling suddenly boneless. The fire had burnt itself out, and now he felt as if he were only full of ashes. Ashes and smoke, clouding up his innards. He pulled out that pack of cigarettes, looked at it for a long minute, and then tossed it out the carriage window. Antonin Dolohov was dead. And Zacharias was going home to Megan…

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands as convulsions shook his body, nerves and aftershock and oh Merlin what the hell had he just done?!

The man would never hurt anyone ever again.

But what the hell had he just done?

~ Fin

Author's Notes: Well! Now that the violence is out of the way...you can look forward to more Snape/Luna, Werewolves, Death Eaters, and other bits in the entries to come :)