1979
"Bella…was that really necessary?" Lucius asked, his tone plainly telling the others precisely how tired and bored he was. His wand was clutched tightly in his hand, though his hand was held loosely at his side.
"Yes, and it was fun," Bellatrix replied, lowering her wand. She continued walking through the darkness without slowing, speaking to the man on her left, being watched carefully by the Wizard on her right.
"If you have degenerated to finding fun in killing stray cats, I must wonder when the last time you were given the chance to fight a real opponent was," Lucius said, keeping pace.
"Not since we arrived here," Bellatrix said shortly. "The Dark Lord demanded total discretion while we search."
"Then why would he send a woman who can scarcely go a day without murdering something to assist me?" Malfoy quipped back.
"Assist you?" Bellatrix hissed, her eyes widening, her fury causing a static like air to surround her. "The Dark Lord sent me to –"
"The Dark Lord," said the man on her right, who was not holding a wand, but had his hands deep inside the pockets of his robes, "sent us to do his will. Not bicker about who is his favorite."
"Easy for you to say, Snape," Lucius said, somewhat bitterly. But after that he said no more, nor did either of his companions, though each continued to throw glares at each other during the few moments they were not peering down an alleyway or glancing over their shoulder.
The three Death Eaters were in one of the last places any wanted to be, though at their favorite time of day – a Muggle suburb at midnight. And if it wasn't bad enough to be in a Muggle rat hole, it was a Muggle rat hole thousands of miles from home. The Dark Lord had ordered his three top lieutenants to America four days ago, and had been very clear on what they were to do, though just as plain that no one else should ever know and equally mysterious as to the purpose behind their task.
"Hmmm," Lucius said, making a thoughtful noise as he walked. Severus said nothing, but kept looking around, his eyes on the houses they passed, occasionally observing a few Muggle adults still awake in the windows. Bellatrix rolled her eyes.
"What?" she snapped. "I'm trying to pay attention. We've already been walking for an hour, do you want to miss the place?"
"I was simply wondering why the Dark Lord gave us this task…" Lucius said thoughtfully. "Surely this woman has some connection to the Order of the Phoenix."
"Here? In America?" Bellatrix said with a snort. "As long as we stay away, the AMC does nothing to aid the Ministry, the Order, or the Aurors."
"Perhaps this woman wishes to change that," Malfoy challenged.
"Then why would her child be so important to the Dark Lord?" Bellatrix asked, her voice rising, earning a look from Severus. "He wants us to make an example to keepresistance cowering. We kill this woman and take her child, it sends a message. Who would dare resist?"
"Few…at first," Snape finally said. "The Dark Lord is highly intelligent. He understands the human psyche. The acts of destruction and bedlam you so enjoy, Bella, do terrify the people into docility for a while. But too much will cause more dissent than the Dark Lord would wish. Killing a mother and stealing her child in a foreign country? Do you not realize how much fury this will ignite? The international repercussions this may bring upon us? The Dark Lord knows the cost…and yet here we are. The child is far more significant than the mother, this I assure you."
"Did the Dark Lord tell you all this?" Bellatrix demanded, coming to a complete stop. Lucius did the same, looking at the same time amused at Bellatrix's reaction and irritated at Severus' knowledge. Snape reluctantly stopped walking as well. "Do you think you're worth more now, Snape? Why would he tell you all that? Why?" she grinded through her teeth.
Both Lucius and Bellatrix glared at the much younger Death Eater, awaiting his answer. Neither cared much for the upstart Death Eater who had risen much too quickly through their ranks, surpassing loyal supporters who had been Death Eaters for years. Using Legilimency, it was clear Lucius felt his position and status were threatened by Snape, despite harboring a certain respect for the young Dark Wizard. Bellatrix required no such careful reading.
"He didn't," Snape said coldly, his black eyes meeting Bellatrix's, behind which burned a certain fire his stare did nothing to cool. "Unlike some others, I choose to use my brain more often than my wand. I could be completely wrong, I do not know." Bella looked about ready to calm down…until Severus spoke his again. "That is unlikely, however, as I know the Dark Lord better than any, understand his ways as none other does."
"What did you just say?" Bella whispered, her eyes now ablaze, her wand pointed straight at Snape, who didn't flinch. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"Calm yourself Bella," Lucius warned, his wand now pointed at his sister in law. "Severus is young…he doesn't understand what he's saying," he growled, his eyes shifting quickly to Snape and then back to Bellatrix.
"He knows exactly what he's saying!" Bella spat. "He thinks he's better than both of us, and yet no one can seem to locate him on any respectable family tree. Never did explain that, did you Snape?"
"I have explained plenty to the Dark Lord," Snape said, showing his first hint of anger. His face, though it could not have been called attractive, took on a much better appearance when he was leading, or in control. Right now he was neither, and Severus was already tired of it. "Now Bella, I would advise you put your wand away, before someone gets hurt."
"Threatening me?" Bellatrix half shrieked, half laughed. "You Snape? I would kill you before you could even raise your wand."
"Perhaps…" Lucius interjected before Severus could reply, "perhaps this searching has taken a toll on us. I think it's time to try a new tactic." Neither of his companions seemed interested in what he had to say, but he pressed on. He could kill and pillage just as well as any Death Eater, but he was still a diplomat when backed into a corner.
"That woman is supposed to live near here, correct?" he asked, once again receiving no reply. He felt a stab of annoyance at the disrespect, but went on. "Well why don't we ask around?" he suggested ominously. He gestured at the house behind him, which was completely dark. "We should pay these Muggles a visit…see what they know."
"Why would Muggles know where she is?" Bella asked immediately, though the chance for violence had obviously intrigued her.
"It is possible she has tried to blend into this community," Snape said evenly, addressing Lucius. "Either way, it will give Bellatrix a chance to release some of her energy at least."
"Fine," Bellatrix said, dropping her wand arm and taking a deep breath. Despite the rage that had fueled her seconds ago, a frightening smile crept onto her lips. "Let's conduct a little interview with these Muggles…see if they know where this woman is."
Bellatrix and Malfoy turned and walked together towards the house, stepping quickly up the curb and into the front yard. They stopped at a call from Snape, however.
"We have a problem," he said flatly.
"You have a lot of problems, you scrawny little git," Bellatrix muttered, not turning to face him. "What in specific?" A powerful whooshing noise followed her last words.
"One more word," Severus whispered, now inches behind Bellatrix, speaking right into her ear. Her eyes followed the spell he had shot at her disappear into the dark night sky, and then swiveled as far as possible to try to look at him without turning around. "I expect a few foolish words from someone as mentally unstable as you, but I am at my limit. Speak one more ill word of me – or think it, and I will know – and it will be your last. Do you understand me, Bella?"
There was silence. Bellatrix was panting, her breath visible in the cold air, Snape dug his wand into her back, and Lucius Malfoy stood watching it all, his wand held close to himself, not targeting either person, but ready to defend himself if need be.
Snape knew Bellatrix wouldn't back down. He didn't particularly want her to, either. But the Dark Lord did value Bellatrix…so he chose to indulge reason, not mercy, and lowered his wand. "Forget this. Let's go," he said shortly, pushing past the two senior Death Eaters and striding towards the house, his cloak trailing on the cold concrete he walked on.
Bellatrix still seemed a bit stunned, and even more angry, and for a moment looked as if she might curse Snape from behind. But instead she simply snarled, "Come on!" at Lucius and followed Severus. Malfoy followed, unable to help being impressed by Snape's gall. All three Death Eaters huddled around the white, wooden door, quickly becoming cold as they stopped moving.
"Alohamora," Snape said very quietly, pointing his wand at the lock. It clicked and Bellatrix immediately reached for the handle, but Severus stopped her with a jerk of his head. He raised his wand skyward. "Homenum Revelio."
There was a moment of silence, and then Severus opened and shut his eyes. "Three…there's three in there," he reported.
"Who cares?" Bellatrix said impatiently, pushing past Snape and throwing open the door. "Three or three hundred, they're still Muggles." Bella walked inside, tall and proud, no attempt at sneaking made.
"She has a point," Lucius shrugged, following Bellatrix into the house, just as boldly. Snape took two steps, but froze for a moment on the threshold. He spun around to face the yard and the street, his wand straight out and rapidly changing position. Snape was sure he had heard something…and he had a feeling. Severus was not an impulsive person and he didn't often go purely off of gut feeling, but he was sure someone was near, although he couldn't see anyone, although his nose did feel unnaturally stuffy, as if he was inhaling some foreign and unpleasant substance.
He had a feeling going into that house was a bad idea…like it was protected somehow. Or perhaps everything was protected…from him. It made Severus very uncomfortable. He could not appear a coward, but knew any action tonight was destined to fail. Something was wrong. He had to warn Lucius and Bellatrix to retreat –
But just as he made to turn and run into the house, a horrible scream tore through the night. His skin crawled and his mind raced. It was a woman's scream and had come from inside the house – Bellatrix and Lucius were already at work. Snape cursed them both…how were they stupid enough to forget to cast the Muffilato spell?
"Not another step, Death Eater," said a growling voice behind Snape.
Severus didn't take another step – he dove to the ground, seven years of schoolyard ambushes by the four "heroes" of Gryffindor giving him an uncanny reaction speed. A spell flew over his head, right where he would have been standing as he rolled over onto his back and yelled "Protego!" The shield immediately formed and just as quickly absorbed three differently colored spells.
Three people had snuck up on Severus, two of them wearing a shining black metal armor, all of them aiming their wands at him. One of their faces were exposed, another hooded, but the third person had a helmet on made of the same black metal. All three glared down at Snape, and one of them whose face he could see took a step towards him.
"Death Eaters…here. Things are getting bad," he shook his head. "This is why the Aurors need us, huh Shade?"
The person in the center of the group, who turned out to be a woman, dressed not in armor but silky black robes, nodded. She remained a few steps behind her allies. "I know why they're here," she said quietly, her voice heavy and icy at the same time. Severus could only stare – her robes were not made of linen or silk. It was as if the woman was cloaked in darkness itself, clinging to her body loosely, swirling around her feet, wrapping itself protectively around her. Severus suddenly realized he was afraid, a very particular kind of persistent fear he only felt in the presence of the Dark Lord himself. Her face was still hooded, but as she shifted her head slightly towards Snape he knew she was staring at him. "You've come for Elysina Lovegood, yes?"
"Who the hell are you?" Snape demanded, climbing to his feet, keeping his shield up. Whoever these people were, they were obviously not bad at magic...and they seemed highly official. He hoped Lucius or Bellatrix had heard the commotion and would back him up soon, but he doubted it. They were likely having too much fun inside to bother coming out to help him.
"Haven't heard of us yet?" the first man said, raising his eyebrows. "Must be new. We're STRIKE…no?" he added, as Snape looked confused. "Oh well. Probably better that way. It won't matter anyway, not now that the Black Shade herself is here." The woman inside screamed again.
"Out of the way," the Shade said, moving suddenly past the other two and as close to Snape's shield as possible. A rippling shadow of a spell clouded the air in her wake, the faint signature of the magic she had used to move so quickly and smoothly. "Or we'll move you."
All he could do was fight.
"Try it," Snape growled.
"With pleasure!" yelled the second man, who hadn't spoken yet. He fired a Stunner at Snape, who deflected it as it broke through his shield. All three of the STRIKE agents struck at once, their three spells combining into one powerful burst of magic that slammed Snape into the outside wall of the house. He crumpled, unconscious.
"We'll deal with him later!" the Shade said quickly, as one of the men aimed their wand at Severus. The three of them rushed inside as a man yelled and a baby began to cry. They hurried through an entryway, living room, and down a hallway, towards the sound of the yelling.
The Shade grimaced as she raced down the hall – she was forced to jump over a woman's body, lying face down on the floor. She was too experienced to miss the sad fact that the woman was not breathing. The lights were on in the room at the end of the hall, though the sound of the baby crying was coming from another room on the other side of the house.
"Nothing to say, you filthy Muggle?" a woman screamed harshly. "Avada Kedavra!"
"Dammit!" the Shade hissed, reaching the room and staring in shock. She watched as the Muggle man fell to the floor, and as Lucius Malfoy's eyes dilated, and as Bellatrix turned to face her. Her heartbeat hastened at the scene, causing the Shade to curse again.
"Stupefy!" she cast rapidly, pointing her wand at Lestrange. Bellatrix reacted just in time to block the curse, which shot upwards and blew a small hole in the ceiling. The Shade's friends appeared behind her, throwing curses in tandem at Lucius, who was knocked out before he could fire a single spell. Bellatrix looked slightly troubled at being left to duel all three at once, but fought on just as she knew she was expected to. It was in her nature to fight, no matter the dangers.
"Die die die!" she screamed at them, sending curse after curse at them. One of them, a whizzing green light, struck the man with the helmet, killing him instantly.
"You'll pay for that!" the Shade hissed, her wand gathering energy at its point, until it released it at Bellatrix in a massive explosion. Like Snape, she cried "Protego!" at the top of her lungs, though her shield only blunted the attack. She was thrown onto the bed, rolled all the way over it, and off onto the floor on the other side.
"Stay back!" the Shade said sharply to her remaining companion, who had made to move in on Bellatrix. "She's not done yet. Go find that crying child."
"But –"
"Don't argue!" she said harshly. "You know who I am and what I'm capable of. Leave…leave her to me."
"Yes, ma'am," the STRIKE agent relented, sparing a sad glance at his fallen friend as he hurried out of the room.
Now alone in this room of bodies, the Shade took a deep breath, shutting her eyes as she slowly removed her hood, shaking her head slightly so that her chocolate colored hair fell comfortably around her shoulders. As she breathed in darkness, she was transported from the scene, into a world of her own, a calmer, quieter place. The Shade exhaled and opened her eyes. She placed her left hand – the one not clutching her wand – against her chest. Her heartbeat was back to normal, slightly slower than what the Healers told her was healthy.
At last settled and ready, she took a few steps towards the tattered bed and the woman lying on the other side of it. Very slowly and with her wand aimed carefully, she came up to the small bed and peered over it to the floor on the other side. Bellatrix was not there. Her eyes narrowed but she made no noise as she spun, the world slowing around her, all sound silenced, color fading to monochrome, flicking her wand just in time to catch Bellatrix's deadly curse. It pooled in her wand tip for a moment, seemingly ready to explode. Bellatrix's eyes widened with delight at the sight. Then, without a word, the Shade brought her wand near her face, held vertically, and blew slightly. The spell extinguished without incident and the Shade moved her wand away, crinkling her nose slightly at the smell and shaking her wand a bit before leveling it at Bellatrix. The world returned to normal in a flash, color and sound blasting back into her senses.
"This is who you are now?" she asked very quietly, a mixture of judgment and disgust weighing down her voice. "This is what the Dark Lord uses you for? Hunting down new mothers and their baby girls?"
"He gives me his most important tasks," Bellatrix replied sharply, her upper lip flared in a scowl that showed her teeth.
"And he sends along his banker and the boy who had his pants taken off in front of the entire school to help?" The Shade's expression was ice cold. "I wonder why? Tell me Bella, did he have more important business at home? Or is this his way of admitting he's frightened of Elysina?"
"I asked for this task," Bellatrix breathed. "I begged for it. Not because of some bitch hiding in the mountains. I asked because I knew if I came near her…you wouldn't be far, lurking in the shadows, protecting your dear friend."
"So you wanted to draw me out? You came here to duel me?" the Shade asked softly. She paused. "If you wanted me to kill you so badly, Bella, you didn't have to go to the effort of hunting down my sister."
As she expected, this last sentence enraged Bellatrix. The mad Witch moved aggressively, shooting of a series of yellow and green curses at her. The Shade's arm was up before any of the spells were halfway to her. She swept her wand out horizontally, slapping all three curses away as if they were a mere annoyance.
"You blood traitor whore!" Bella screamed, putting a step into her next spell to give it extra velocity. This one, the Shade merely sidestepped, keeping her eyes on Bellatrix's. "Fight me!" Bella screeched, her rage instant and violent.
The Shade blinked.
"If that will put an end to this."
And with that, she moved. Her first movement was to the left, forcing Bellatrix to take a moment to re-aim, enough time for her to sweep her wand up from behind her, pulling the bed – frame and all – up in front of her, bursting into flames as it absorbed Bellatrix's curse. Her second motion was a jab, sending the flaming mattress at her attacker, who reacted too slowly to do anything but be slammed by the weight and heat of it. The mattress flew with enough force to crush Bellatrix up against the opposite wall, her cheek forced sideways against it, her arm pinned flat on the wall, unable to cast a spell, the searing heat eating through the bed and nearer her….
And then, the mattress was split in half down the middle, the intense pressure relieved as the two perfect pieces fell on either side of Bellatrix, no longer smoking. Before Bellatrix could react, she found the Shade's face inches from her own, her wand digging into Bella's abdomen.
"Firine Incarcerous," the Shade muttered, glaring at Bellatrix. A yellow substance – part light and part liquid – sprung from her wand, crawling down Bella's arms and legs. Reaching her appendages, it forced her feet together and her arms to extend out to her sides as if on a cross. She was suddenly and totally bound that way, unable to move more than her fiercely struggling neck. She still held her wand in her hand, but seemed unable to move so much as a finger or articulate any spell.
"What is this?" she demanded, almost breaking her own neck in her struggles.
"Magic," the Shade replied simply. "When you learn more than Dark magic, you find there are other ways to defeat a person than to simply kill them." There was silence. "Whatever you've done, I don't wish to kill you, though this mercy is not for your sake, nor for mine."
"Don't give me that high and mighty talk," Bellatrix spat. "You know plenty of the Dark Arts! You learned them from the Dark Lord right along with me. And you squander those gifts here…." The Shade's heartbeat picked up slightly as she was unable to help remembering those days, shaking as he passed in front of her, full of fear and nervousness and…awe.
"I turned from it," the Shade said shortly. "The powers he gave me were unnatural. Evil."
"And yet I notice you still use many of his spells," Bellatrix observed. "In fact, among the Dark Lord's army, even the strongest whisper of the frightful cruelty of 'The Black Shade' of STRIKE, who kills without mercy. They also whisper that you're not quite well. That that magic you use so effectively is beginning to tear you apart from the inside out…."
"Rumors are exactly that," the Shade muttered. "I kill when its necessary, though unlike some others on our side, not exclusively when I'm forced to."
"You mean when your leash handler allows it," Bellatrix sneered. Another jump in heart rate. The Shade furrowed her brow and turned her back on Bella, placing her hand again on her heart, knowing she must get back in control. "God forbid you do anything to upset Saint Elysina, who heals the sick and feeds the needy with spells shot from her arse! Are you that desperate for affection that you prostrate yourself before her like a fucking slave? Your birth places you far above that!"
"Don't speak of things you don't understand!" the Shade flared suddenly, spinning back around and aiming her wand in Bellatrix's face. "She's not –"
"Perfect," Bellatrix finished, seeming to revel in the fury she was egging on. "The 'White Lightning' isn't what everyone makes her out to be, is she? Do you know why she's here? Has she told you? Hiding from us, with her baby girl? Why she left the fight in England to her lesser ally? It's because I defeated her. I captured her. And I brought her to the Dark Lord. I don't know what he did with her, but she hasn't quite been the same since, has she?"
The Shade broke, losing all restraint.
"Crucio!"
Bellatrix screamed in total agony as the curse acted on her with the full force of the Shade's hatred. But her scream turned into a cackle and the Shade saw only at the last second that Bellatrix's fingers were twitching. She sucked in her breath again, more furious at herself than Bellatrix. She had allowed herself to be distracted and become emotional and…sure enough, her heart was beating out of her chest, sapping her of her best powers. When Bellatrix's arm broke free, she almost panicked, very out of her element being forced to react so quickly. She dove into a roll, dodging Bellatrix's retaliatory Killing Curse, breathing heavily as she jerked her wand to cast a desperate spell to meet another.
"Come on, protect your sister!" Bellatrix cried gleefully, now totally free of her restraints. "Save Elysina from me, just like you tried to save –"
"Enough!" the Shade said sharply, but with a relatively low, controlled tone, unlike the broken one she had used when she cast the Cruciatus Curse.
She fired a quintet of black tendrils from her wand, one shooting straight, the others taking position on each side of it. Bellatrix grasped her wand and made to parry the curse, but found her wand suddenly useless, as all five points of the spell engulfed it, coating it in a thick, black substance which instantly began to creep up her hand and arm. Her arm dropped, her hand down on the floor, and though Bella struggled, it seemed she could neither move her wand or arm, no release her grip. The Shade watched with a frown. Her lips were flat and her eyes narrowed, but a small area twitched, as if holding back from displaying some other emotion.
"Don't fight, Bella," she said quietly, her tone almost…hurt. "You can't get free of this curse, its making its way all through your body. Do you feel a burning in your hand? Its turning your own magic against you. Your own wand is poisoning you with the same Dark magic you've forced it to perform for years. It will kill you within a few minutes." She took a small breath, steadying herself. "I'll stay here until it's done. Is there anything you want to say?"
"I hope the Dark Lord kills you slowly!" Bellatrix screeched. "You and your whole fucking Muggle family! Just like he'll do to your 'sister!'"
"That's harsh," the Shade said, bowing her head. "Especially given what you did to your own sister. Anything that happens to Narcissa in this war is because of you. You turned your little sister into another mindless drone, a slave to the Dark Lord."
"I won!" Bellatrix growled defiantly, her curled lips and wide eyes a picture of her demented sense of triumph.
The Shade shook her head and her eyes fell on Bellatrix's right arm, now totally covered in the black tendrils. "You're wrong," she said. "No one won. No one except the Dark Lord. You can see that's all he cares about, can't you?"
"It is all I care for as well," Bellatrix said proudly, her eyes shifting to her right shoulder as the jagged tendrils climbed towards her head.
"I suppose it's better this way," the Shade sighed wearily. "Seeing you so unrepentant even at the point of death…is comforting in a way. Now I know how lost you really are. Now I can do what I must with a clear conscience. But Bella…you have to know I do it with a heavy heart."
"So sad to see me go?" Bellatrix scoffed disbelievingly.
"No," the Shade shook her head. "I haven't cared about your wellbeing in years. I only care about hers. I know it will hurt her to know you're gone…but it may save her as well."
"So are you going to kill Lucius too, then?" Bellatrix challenged. The darkness was around her neck now; she lifted her chin as high as possible to buy time. "Slaughter her entire family so she'll come running back to you? Your hypocrisy is a marvel!"
The Shade flinched at Bellatrix's words, doing far more damage than any spell she had cast…but she couldn't let Bellatrix get to her, as she had when she taunted her concerning Elysina. Bellatrix was one of the few who knew where her unique powers came from, and how to counter them. This – coupled with her previous unwillingness to kill – had cast Bellatrix as one of the only Death Eaters alive who could match her in a duel.
"Lucius can rot," the Shade said coldly. "He's not worth it. He's a politician kiss-arse, not a soldier. You at least have that…."
In a twist that should not have been surprising, this pronouncement elicited a disconcerting smile from Bellatrix and ignited a dangerously crafty gleam in her eye.
"Don't be so certain," she cackled, spindles inching their way into her mouth as she opened it. The Shade gasped and the world blurred, the poorly lit bedroom replaced by a hazy filter of smoky mist.
Lucius' curse blasted straight through the spot the Shade had been standing only a moment before, sailing dangerously near Bellatrix, who remained on her knees, seconds from death. Lucius stared at her for a moment, struggling to keep a final breath in her lungs. And for a spot, he hesitated, merely watching Bellatrix with a cool, calculating expression. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
"She'll be back!" Bellatrix wheezed, her voice contorted as her throat was blocked. "She'll kill you without me! And she'll enjoy it!"
This was more than enough to motivate Malfoy into action. A hasty "Finite Incantem!" freed Bellatrix at once, though she remained on her knees, one hand at her throat, the other supporting her against the ground. She coughed violently and shook her head. Lucius looked horrified.
"I've…never seen that kind of spell," Lucius whispered. Bellatrix scowled as she staggered to her feet.
"It's the kind you use when you want to kill someone without the niceties of the Avada Kedavra. The kind of spell you learn from the Dark Lord."
"Where is she?" Lucius demanded, sweeping his wand all around the now eerily silent room.
"Could be anywhere," Bellatrix murmured. "But I can find her." She raised her wand high above her head and whispered something very quiet, concentrating hard. Her eyes split wide open with genuine terror.
"We must go!" she cried, rushing towards him before he could brace himself. She slammed into him, grabbing tightly to the wrist of his free hand, right below his Dark Mark. "We must retreat!"
"Why?" Malfoy asked, shocked and appalled at Bella's uncharacteristic fear. A cold, strangely distorted voice answered, emanating from nowhere in particular.
"Because she's realized her wand is drained of magic."
A green bolt met only a crème colored wall as a crack tore the silence of the night, Lucius Disapparating with Bellatrix at the very last second to avoid the Shade's curse. She simply stood there, having reformed herself directly behind them, her wand extended, now pointing at nothing but thin air. She sighed very deeply and hung her head.
She looked around, her eyes raised, her face still lowered. Nothing but misery greeted her gaze, the misery caused by the two monsters who had just escaped her. Ruin and death, that was all they could offer. It was their promise, their gift, to everyone, from the lowest Muggle to their closest friends. Had she been a moment quicker…but that wasn't her. She wasn't quick, quite the opposite. Elysina was the Lightning. She was the Shade. A shadow whose presence was enough to shift the air in a room, to take the life from it, to give the promise of…death. Perhaps she was no better than Bellatrix or Lucius. Maybe they were right. But this was why she was a shadow, who hid among the darkness, only visible to a source of wonderfully radiant light. A mischievous little girl, an overly-cheerful man, and the woman whose casual warmth was the perfect replacement for the sunlight she couldn't endure to be in. They were the only ones who could know her. They were the ones who mattered. And because of them, she was more than Bellatrix or Lucius. Their love was something neither of them – especially Bellatrix – could fathom.
"Shade?"
Her surviving agent had returned. She turned to meet him at the door and couldn't help but start slightly at the sight of him, dressed in full STRIKE raiment, holding a baby, gently, but also as if he was a little afraid of it. She sighed again. Men.
"Have you verified the third Death Eater here?" she asked.
He shook his head. "He was gone, ma'am. Must have ran when he realized the fight was lost. Malfoy and Lestrange got away?"
"They did."
He sighed. "That's too bad. I'm sure you would've liked to catch them. But they're some of You-Know-Who's best. We can't win 'em all. We…lost Henry. And the Muggles are dead. And the Death Eaters escaped. But Lovegood's safe now."
"And so is the kid," the Shade finished, gesturing towards him. "Why are you holding him like that? It's a baby, not a bomb, Collins."
"Oh," he stuttered, looking down and a little embarrassed. "Well, I haven't ever really held a baby before. Poisonous Shireshrooms, sure, but I'll be honest, this scares me a little more."
"Give him here," the Shade said softly, moving slowly nearer him. She held out her arms impatiently and Collins didn't hesitate, looking pleasantly surprised to be handing off the child. The Shade took him into her arms carefully and slowly, holding him tight but gently and brought him close to her chest.
"I'll be honest," Collins said awkwardly, "I didn't expect you to be the type who was good with kids."
"I have a little girl, you know," the Shade replied quietly. "I'm not just the Black Shade. I'm a mother and a wife. I'm a person. I have a life besides fighting Death Eaters."
"Oh, yeah, I – I'm sure," Collins stuttered, nervous and apologetic. "It's just you and Lovegood are legends, you know? Good ones, don't get me wrong, but your whole persona –"
"It's not a persona," the Shade cut across him, just as quietly as before. "I'm not playing a role, here or at home. I am who I am. And I've made peace with that. The things I do I do so my daughter won't have to. So she won't see the horrors I did as child."
"And so other children don't end up like this poor kid," Collins nodded. As if he knew he was being addressed, the baby began to cry and squirm dangerously, but the Shade's hold was secure.
"Hello there," she said incredibly softly, so much that even Collins couldn't hear. She bent her neck so her face was near the baby's. "You're safe now, child. We couldn't save your family, but we can help you. You're going to be all right, I promise."
When the baby only cried louder, Collins looked around a little fretfully, as if more enemies might hear and choose to appear for another fight. But the Shade merely scooped him up closer, turning him so he was pressed up against her chest and shoulder. She rocked very slowly back and forth, one hand under him, the other – still holding her wand – against his back. A small, very faint blue light began to glow around her hand.
"What's that?" Collins asked.
"A very weak Calming Spell," the Shade answered. "I used to use a slightly stronger one on my daughter when she was an infant, but with a Muggle child an even finer touch is necessary – they don't have the innate tolerance for magic our children have. It can be very dangerous for them."
The child only cried louder, flailing his little hands around, banging into the Shade a few times. She and Collins looked at each other in genuine shock.
"That…should have worked," the Shade said, frowning.
"I'm sure you're tired from the fight," Collins offered. She nodded.
"I am, but magic that simple on a Muggle child should be a snap with the proper control."
"Umm…Shade?" Collins said suddenly. He sounded extremely distressed.
"What?" she asked distractedly, not looking over at him, as she was still focusing on the child.
"Are you doing magic right now?"
"What?" she snapped, now turning to look at him. "No!"
"Then explain that," Collins said weakly, groaning again as he pointed over at a dresser on the other side of the room, whose contents were slowly floating up out of it. The Shade gasped and looked down at the infant in her arms.
"Do you think…it's him? Is he doing this?" she asked, her eyes wide.
"His parents were definitely Muggles, no wands on them," Collins said. "But I guess he could be Muggleborn…wow. Just wow."
Both STRIKE agents stared at the levitating clothing for a moment. Magic rarely showed itself in any child before the age of two.
"He…resisted my Charm naturally," the Shade breathed. "Astounding…come on little guy," she added in a whisper, bringing him close to her face again. "It's all going to be okay. You're going to be taken care of in the world you belong. We'll find you someone…who will love you." She looked over her shoulder at Collins. "Do we have a name for him?"
"Look at this," Henry said, walking over to a dresser beside his bed. He glanced over at the still levitating toys momentarily, and then picked up a picture off of the dresser. "It's him and his parents…and his name's on the frame."
"What is it?" she asked. She turned to face Henry, holding the boy close. He quieted down a little and stopped pounding his fists against her. Henry shrugged and read it aloud to her.
"Michael…frame says his name's Michael Jacobs."
AN: Okay so a little clarification at the back end of this flashback chapter. Snape is telling the group the story based on what he would have pieced together after the fact from his own memories, conversations he would have had with Lucius, and a casual application of Legilimency on Bellatrix, who again, is the type of person who would make little effort to conceal her thoughts. She's the polar opposite of Snape, who keeps all his cards to his chest. Now the bit after Bellatrix and Lucius fled is just a bit of third person storytelling for the benefit of you, the audience. Michael and Luna and Harry wouldn't be privvy to that scene because only the two surviving STRIKE agents were present for it.