The Light Which Casts Shadows: Chapter Two-
Hogwarts, Dumbledore's Office, 6th November 1997
The Order of the Phoenix had convened for an emergency meeting. Albus Dumbledore was sat at his desk, whilst the others were sat on several conjured armchairs, or perched on the edge of cabinets. "If we could please move onto the next item on the agenda. Severus? I believe you have information for us."
"The murder of Walden Macnair was indeed the Dark Lord's idea." Snape said, curtly.
"You know this for certain?"
"Yes. I heard it from Narcissa just this morning."
"Any idea who it was?" asked Arthur Weasley.
"No. Though it was not the Dark Lord himself. Despite what Macnair thought, he wasn't that important." replied Snape. "Lucius was in a meeting with him at that time anyway."
"So it wasn't Snakeface, or Malfoy…" A pink haired woman muttered to himself. "Hmmm… Maybe Bellatrix?". Snape rolled his eye's at the woman.
"You're always so quick to blame your dear aunt, aren't you Tonks?"
"It's definitely her M.O." Tonks shrugged.
"Regardless, Bellatrix was occupied at the time of Macnair's murder."
"But why Macnair?" asked James. "He was basically a nobody."
"He must've done something to upset the Dark Lord." Moody muttered.
"I'll have a dig around his file at the DMLE and see if I can find anything interesting." James said.
"Thank you, James." Dumbledore nodded.
"For now, it seem's that an unknown entity killed Macnair." Moody frowned.
"You're certain that it was the Dark Lord's orders, Severus?" asked Severus
"Positive." Snape nodded.
"Is there no-one else that could have done it?"
"I doubt that a lower ranking Death Eater would have had the knowledge, nor the capability to use the decapitation curse."
"Which rules out a vast majority of the Death Eaters."
"So, it had to be an inner circle member?" asked Tonks.
"Yes, which means that they're marked, just as I am. When I'm next called to the Dark Lord's side, he may mention it."
"Thank you, Severus. Please inform us of who carried out the act. Clearly, they are someone we should be wary of."
"Yes, Headmaster."
"Next item on our agenda, Tonks, have you thought anymore on my offer?"
"Not yet, Headmaster. I'm sorry. This business with Macnair has taken any free time I might've had away from me." Tonks sighed.
"Not to worry, When you're ready." Dumbledore nodded.
"Finally, given current events, I believe that we should all keep in regular contact, thus, I had Filius and Miss Granger prepare these coins for our use. Simply tap them with your wand when you wish to call an Emergency meeting. We'll meet here. Hogwarts is well guarded enough against unwanted intruders that we should be safe. You're all keyed into my floo, so travel shouldn't be an issue." he said, handing a basket of golden coins around. Each member took one, and pocketed it. "If that is all, then meeting adjourned."
"Good, I need to check on a potion." Snape muttered, standing.
"And I need to check on Cyrus. I'll bet he hasn't done his homework" said Lily, following after him. Outside, Snape turned to Lily. "What do you think, Lil's?"
"I don't know, Sev." Lily said, shaking her head. "I mean, it's definitely Voldemort's style to kill his own followers, but, why Macnair? You heard James, he was a nobody."
"Moody's right, he must have upset the Dark Lord somehow."
"I dread to think how, to warrant such a brutal execution."
"I know, Lil's. Don't worry. You're safe here. Cyrus is safe here."
"I hope so, Sev."
Hogwarts, Courtyard, Hogwarts, Dumbledore's Office, 6th November 1997
Cyrus Potter was sat in the courtyard, reading a going over a herbology textbook. Neville Longbottom was sat next to him, proofreading on of his herbology essays. "That's almost right, Cy." said Neville, pointing to a paragraph. "But I think you mean Puffa Pods. Halfway through this paragraph, you start talking about fluxweed."
"Huh? Oh man." Cyrus groaned. He quickly flipped to the relevant page. "My pages are stuck together!" He cried. Neville merely chuckled in response. "Know a spell to save my book?" Cyrus asked meekly. Neville pulled out his wand, and pointed it at the stuck together pages.
"Apertus." he said. The pages fell apart, revealing two very dirty pages. "Tersus Sersum." he said waving his wand over the two dirty pages. The pages became whiter, and crisp, until they appeared as new as the day the book had been purchased. "Hermione taught that one to me." he grinned. "It's a life saver. It's saved my potions book more times than I can count."
"Twenty points to Hufflepuff for excellent spellwork, Mr. Longbottom." came a voice.
"Mum." Cyrus grinned.
"Hey, honey." Lily smiled, wrapping an arm around Cyrus' shoulder, and pulling him into a hug. "How are you?"
"I'm fine, Mum." said Cyrus.
"And how about you, Neville?" she asked, hugging the older boy.
"I'm well, thanks, Aunt Lily. How are you?"
"Very well, thank you, Neville."
Neville had been born a few days before Selene and the two had spent a lot of time together as babies. James and Lily had been named as Neville's godparents, and had often looked after him when Frank and Alice had been away on Auror missions. He was something of an older brother figure for Cyrus. Lily looked at the two boys sadly. It had been sixteen years since she had seen her eldest child, Selene. She didn't even know if the girl was alive or dead. Looking at the two boys made her heart ache for the missing child, the daughter she never got to know.
"Mum, are you okay?" Cyrus asked, frowning at the woman. He had no idea that he had once had, or perhaps still did have, an older sister.
"Yes, dear. Everything's fine." Lily smiled at him. "I have to be going now, be good. I'll see you Tuesday. Neville, I'll see you Monday morning. Don't forget your homework!"
"Mum, it's Saturday!" Cyrus whined.
"I know, and it's due in on Tuesday."
"I'll get Hermione to help me." Cyrus sighed.
"No, I'm marking Cyrus' essay. Not Hermione's. She's a sixth year, third year charms is far below her level."
"But Mum!"
"I may be your mother, but I'm also the charms teacher, and I can assign you detention." Lily warned. "You don't want that do you?"
"I'll do it." he gulped, remembering the last time all too clearly.
"Good, I'll see you Tuesday then." she smiled, kissing the top of his head, then Neville's, and heading towards the second floor, where her office was located.
"What did she make you do last time?" asked Neville, chuckling.
"I had to scrub the toilets on the fourth floor, without magic."
"Ew."
"I know, with Filch mumbling about old tortures as well." Cyrus shuddered.
"You'd best get it done. Just make those changes I mentioned, and this essay should be fine." Neville said, handing Cyrus his essay back.
"Thanks." Cyrus nodded, taking the assignment off Neville, and tucking it into his bag. "Time to start on Charms.". He frowned, deep in thought.
"You're going to get Hermione to do it, aren't you?"
"I'm going to get Hermione to do it." he nodded, grinning. "Come on, she loves charms."
Hogwarts, Snape's Potions Laboratory, November 8th 1997
The call to Voldemort's side didn't come until two days later. Snape was in his laboratory at Hogwarts. He had just finished slicing several flobberworms into quarter inch slices. He slid them off the cutting board and into the potion. He stirred it counter-clockwise three times, and added a sprig of peppermint. The potion didn't call for it, but it helped the otherwise abysmal flavour. As he dropped the peppermint sprig in, there was a sharp pain in his arm. Snape gasped in pain. The Dark Mark was flaring. The Dark Lord was calling. Pulling on his robes and mask, he apparated to Riddle Manor.
Riddle Manor, Meeting Room, November 8th 1997
As he walked into the main meeting room, he saw several Death Eaters. All of them had their hoods up, and their silver masks in place. Voldemort was sat at the head of the table, with Lucius to his left, and Bellatrix to his right. Both were far too recognisable, even with their hoods up and masks on. It was a wonder Lucius hadn't been identified a million times over. Snape realised that their were only two empty spaces left. He took his seat, and waited for Voldemort to begin. "Please, my friends, remove your masks, lower your hoods." the Dark Lord began. Around the table, the men and women removed their masks and lowered their hoods. Snape recognised them all. Yaxley, Jugson, Barty Crouch Jr, the three Lestranges, Lucius and Dolohov. Voldemort look around the table. "As you may have noticed, we have an empty seat at our table tonight." he said, gesturing to the chair. "It is a shame to leave a seat open, and so, I would like to introduce you to the person, who will be filling this seat from now on. Come in.". The door opened, and a figure wearing a long dark cloak stepped in. They came to stand next to Voldemort, who stood, and placed an arm around her. "This, is my niece, I expect you to treat her, as you would me."
"I was unaware you had a niece, my Lord." Dolohov said.
"Miss Lestrange has been with me for longer than some of you."
"Lestrange?" Yaxley frowned. "Your kid, Bella?"
"Yes, she's mine. Which means if you lay a finger on her, I'll cut them off!" she grinned. The Death Eaters laughed at Bellatrix's obligatory threat, even voldemort chuckled, before clearing his throat.
"As I was saying, I'd like to introduce Miss Lestrange. She is my right hand, my personal assassin. It was her who dealt with the late Walden Macnair.". Snape kept his regular mask of indifference, but inside his mind was reeling. This young girl was the one who had killed Macnair? From what he could see of her face, she appeared to be a young girl. Perhaps younger than some of his students at Hogwarts. The thought of a girl as young as that knowing such dark magic was stomach churning.
"Come dear, sit." he said gesturing to the empty seat. The girl sat, but did not remove her hood, as everyone else had done. Voldemort took his seat, and began the meeting. "Severus, what new's from the Order do you have for us?"
"Unfortunately, nothing of value, my lord." Snape said. "The Order have made little to no progress in recent months. They're like dogs chasing their tails.".
"What an apt analogy." Voldemort chuckled.
"They are concerned with the brutality of the attack on Macnair, however."
"I fear I must agree, my lord." Yaxley nodded. "Miss Lestrange, whilst I respect your magical abilities, this attack will inevitably draw a lot of attention."
"I agree." Dolohov nodded.
"As do I." Barty nodded.
"Barty!" hissed Bellatrix. "That's your cousin!"
"Sorry, Bella. But, Yaxley's right. The last thing we need right now is attention." Barty shrugged.
"Very well." said Voldemort. "Miss Lestrange. From now on, please try and refrain.". The girl under the cloak nodded, but said nothing. "As it happens, Barty is quite right. Our sources have informed me that there is a grave in Godric's Hollow that is marked with the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. Barty, I would like you to investigate it."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Very well, meeting adjourned."
Selene stepped out of the meeting room. A boy with platinum blonde slicked back hair was stood, leaning against the wall. "Hey, cuz." he smirked at her.
"Draco, hey. I didn't know you were here."
"Father brought me along." he shrugged. "I think he wants to talk to the Dark Lord about my marking."
"That's a big honour, Draco." Selene smiled, hugging her cousin. "How have you been?"
"Well, thank you. Yourself?"
"The same."
"I heard about your… handiwork, with Macnair."
"I never liked that jerk." Selene shrugged.
"A jerk is an understatement." Malfoy nodded. "But even so-"
"Stop right there." Selene snarled. "If you're about to tell me that I went to far, then you can shut up! I've just stood in a room, and had a whole group of middle aged morons tell me that!"
"I wasn't going to say that at all." Draco said, his face a shade paler than usual.
"Good. What were you going to say?"
"Before I was so rudely interrupted?" Draco smirked, but stopped at the look on Selene face. He was fairly certain that look was one that kept Dragon's awake at night. "I was going to say that your execution of Macnair has sent shockwaves throughout the magical community."
"Really? I would've hardly called Macnair a pillar of the community." Selene frowned.
"Exactly, he was basically a no-one." said Draco. "A no-one, and he was beheaded!"
"Ah, I get it." Selene sighed. "Every politician in the country's on edge."
"Exactly, a no-one got beheaded, what's going to happen to the people who actually have power?"
"Who cares? We only really hurt mudbloods."
"Exactly, but they don't know if he was killed by us, or the order."
"Really? How stupid are they? Whe was the last time the Order beheaded anyone?"
"Macnair was marked though, an inner circle member."
"So am I, and I kill other people who have it. Geez, Draco."
"Look, my point is, everyone's gonna be on edge from now on. Maybe lay low for a while?"
"Draco, when Uncle Tom gives an order, I must follow it. It is a great honour to be chosen to complete an assignment for our cause." Selene smiled, sadly at him. "You must learn to put the cause above all else, even our lives. See you later, Draco.". Draco stood watching after her for a few moments, deep in thought.
"Uncle Tom?"
"What's that, Draco?" came a voice from behind him. Draco spun round. Barty Crouch Jr had just stepped out of the meeting room. He had discarded his robes and mask, and was as impeccably dressed as ever.
"Barty, I didn't hear you there."
"That's why I'm such a great spy." Barty grinned, as he sauntered over.
"And, oh so modest." Draco sighed, jokingly.
"Eh, modesty is overrated." the handsome man shrugged.
"So, when did our dear cousin start referring to the Dark Lord as Uncle Tom?"
"What?" Barty asked, shocked. "Uncle Tom? No way. That's fantastic!" he laughed.
"So, you heard about her killing Macnair?" Draco asked.
"Yeah." he nodded, straightening himself out. "I worry sometimes that there's too much Bellatrix in her, and not enough Rodolphus."
"Maybe. She does spend a lot of time with her mother."
"Bellatrix does have a very… Dominant aura." Barty nodded. "Anyway, I have a mission to accomplish. See ya around, cuz."
"A mission already?" Draco frowned. "You only just returned from your last mission."
"Yeah, I'm being sent to scope out a clue to the Deathly Hallows."
"The Deathly Hallows? Come on, Barty, that's just a story."
"Well, that may be the case, but according to our sources, there's a grave in Godric's Hollow with the markings all over it. Regardless, the Dark Lord's given me orders, and they must be followed. You'll have to learn that if you're gonna be a fully marked Death Eater like Selene and I." Barty said. "Gotta go, give my love to Selene.". As Barty left, Draco turned to look out of a window, his mind whirring.
"They are just a story, aren't they?"
Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office, November 8th 1997
"Severus, do you have any information on the Macnair murder?" Dumbledore asked, staring over his half moon spectacles at the potions master.
"Yes, headmaster. I do." Snape nodded. "The killer was a young woman who was only named as 'Miss Lestrange'."
"Lestrange?" James frowned. "Bellatrix has a kid?"
"I would assume it's hers." Snape shrugged. "Or Rabastans. Either way. I'm afraid I don't have much else on her."
"She can't be very old. Bella's only 38." said Lily.
"I didn't get a good look at her, to be honest." said Snape. "From what I could make out, she appeared to be very young. In her late teens at the oldest."
"Disgusting." Mrs Weasley muttered. "Using children as weapons in a war."
"Severus, is there any way you could get closer to her?"
"It's highly unlikely. Bellatrix doesn't trust me, I highly doubt that she'd let me anywhere near her daughter."
"Very well, try and learn what you can then." said Dumbledore. Snape merely nodded in response. Dumbledore turned to the rest of the table. "It seems that we need to move carefully. It is safe to assume that this 'Miss Lestrange' will have been trained in the dark arts by Bellatrix herself."
"Which means we're dealing with a psychotic sadist." said James, pointedly.
"I believe that is highly likely." Snape shrugged.
"She belongs in a padded cell." grumbled Moody. "Along with the rest of her deranged family."
"Severus, is there no way you could get closer to her? She might have valuable information."
"It is highly unlikely. Miss Lestrange acts as the Dark Lord's right hand. She is either with her parents in the east wing of the manor, or out completing a mission for him."
"That's it!" James exclaimed.
"James? What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked, frowning at the man.
"If Snivellus can get us the information on who it is she's after, and when and where it's happening, then we've got her!"
"We capture her and interrogate her, you mean?" asked Tonks.
"Exactly, Tonks!" he cried happily. "What can go wrong?"
"The Dark Lord mentioned that Barty Crouch Jr will be carrying out a mission in Godric's Hollow. Bellatrix did say that he was Miss Lestrange's cousin."
"So, we've got bait!" James cried happily.
"James." Lily spoke up. "I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with kidnapping a young girl and interrogating her."
"Not just any kid, Lily! A Death Eater!"
"They could prove a valuable asset." murmured Dumbledore.
"Albus!" cried Lily. "This is a child we're talking about!"
"And one that has chosen the wrong side." Dumbledore replied, calmly.
"I want it known by all, that I disagree with this."
"Your concerns are noted." Dumbledore nodded. "Are there any other matters that require attention?"
"Yes, sir." Tonks said, raising her hand.
"Yes, Miss Tonks. I thought a little more on it, and I would like to accept your offer. I'll take the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher" said Tonks. Dumbledore's face broke into a grin.
"Wonderful. Please come to my office tomorrow morning, and we'll get you settled in."
"Yes, sir."
"Well then, if there's nothing else." Dumbledore smiled at the group. "I thank you all, and I will see you all at the next meeting, if not sooner.". The men and women present began to leave, saying their goodbye's. Sirius was showing a few of them to the door, whilst others opted for the floo. Dumbledore was left alone in the room. "Well then, Tom." Dumbledore sighed. "Let the games begin."
