The Butler, At Night
"Bella, you sure that this is the throne room?" Daphne asked.
"Yes, young mistress." Bellatrix nodded. "This is where he spends all his time."
"Right is everyone ready to go?" Daphne asked. The group nodded, and Daphne reached for the doorknob. "Okay, be ready for anything." she said, turning the doorknob and throwing the door open. The five burst through the doors to the throne room, and suddenly, all skidded to a stop. Of everything that they expected to see, the sight before them was not amongst them. There, on the ground before them, lay Lord Voldemort. Dead.
Daphne stared at the sight before her. Voldemort was dead. Of everything she had been expecting, this was the last thing she had thought she would find. Lowering her wand, she looked to Sebastian. "Sebastian, check the body. Is he definitely dead?". Sebastian approached the body and knelt down next to it. After examining it for a moment, he turned back to Daphne and nodded.
"Yes, young mistress. He is dead. It appears as though his magic was drained from him."
"How?" asked Tracey. "I've not heard of anyone having their magic stripped in centuries. Not since the days of witch hunting."
"No, nor have I." said Daphne. "It's an effective method of killing, I'll admit that. Without magic, our bodies cannot survive. They fall apart. But, it takes a while to complete."
"You've read about this, young mistress?"
"A little. It works in much the same way as a Dementor, only instead of sucking out the soul, it sucks out the wizards magic." she said. "But like I said, it's been unheard of for centuries."
"So, what could have done this?"asked Bellatrix. Daphne looked around the throne room. It certainly seemed to be a fitting place for Voldemort to spend his time. The floor was black marble, and in the centre of the room was an ornate silver throne, lined with green velvet. They appeared to be alone in the room. At the back of the room, deep black curtains hid something from view. Daphne felt an irresistible pull towards them, and slowly began to walk towards them.
"Young mistress?" Sebastian frowned.
"Sebastian? Can't you hear them?" Daphne asked, a small smile on her face.
"Hear who?" asked Tracey. Daphne approached the black curtains, her hand outstretched.
"The voices. So many of them. They sound happy. They're calling out to me… Tori..." Daphne muttered. Just as her hand was about to make contact with the curtain, Sebastian grabbed her wrist, and gently pulled her away.
"Young mistress, please refrain from touching anything. We do not know what we are dealing with." he said, softly.
"Yeah! That thing could kill you!" Tracey exclaimed.
"So? Just let her touch it, and do us all a favour." came a voice from the doorway. The group spun around. The Nightmare Queen was stood in the doorway, idly twirling her wand in her fingers.
"You!" Daphne snarled. "I'll kill you, you bitch! Sebastian! Let go of me!"
"No. Your anger is clouding your judgement. She'll kill you before you can even fire a spell." said the butler, calmly. The Nightmare Queen smirked at the display.
"He's right of course." she grinned. "I've so been looking forward to this, let's not rush it, eh?". Daphne quietened down, and stopped struggling. The Nightmare Queen stepped into the room, and over to the black curtains. "You were curious about this, yes?" she asked. Daphne was silent, staring at the Nightmare Queen, eyes seething with hatred. "Aw, the silent treatment? Where's that beautiful hatred gone, huh? C'mon, I know it's still in there somewhere." she smiled cruelly at Daphne. "Hmm, perhaps this will loosen your tongue then?" she said, pulling on the curtain. The black fabric fell to the ground, revealing the Veil.
"What on Earth?" Daphne muttered.
"Ah, she speaks!"
"What are you doing with that?!" Daphne exclaimed.
"I would've thought that you had a much more pressing question on your mind." the dark lady smirked, nodding over at Voldemort's body.
"You? You did this?"
"That's right."
"Why? What for? Your own father?" Daphne cried. It wasn't that she was mourning Voldemort. Far from it. She was relieved that she didn't have to fight the infamous dark lord, but she couldn't comprehend anyone killing their own parents. Then again, the Nightmare Queen had more than earned her name.
"My father had outlived his usefulness." she shrugged. The tone in which she had said it, implied that it was the most obvious thing in the world. "His vision was too narrow. Eliminate the mudbloods, rule over the muggles. That's all."
"What else is there?" Daphne yelled. "What else could you possibly want?"
"My dear, sweet, idiotic girl. Don't you get it?" The nightmare Queen regarded her, pityingly. "There is so much more to rule over. Not just our world, or the muggle world, but so many others."
"Others…? You don't mean..." Daphne trailed off. The Nightmare Queen smirked.
"Looks like you finally got it. Yes."
"Young mistress?" said Tracey. "What's she talking about?"
"She's talking about taking over other worlds. Alternate realities. Worlds similar to our own, but ever so slightly different."
"So-" Tracey began, but was cut off by the maniacal laugh of the Nightmare Queen.
"So, I can kill you a million times! Think of it. I could have a whole dungeon filled with Tracey Davis'. I could have a different Daphne for each meal of the day. A different Sebastian every night for a… midnight snack." she finished winking at Sebastian. "Think of it. All the alternate realities, bowing down before me. I would rule supreme over the very fabric of the universe itself."
"We have to stop her! Sebastian, Tracey, Bellatrix, Neville. This is an order… Kill the Nightmare Queen!"
"Yes, my fair lady." the household chorused, and charged at the insane witch. The look of glee on the nightmare Queen's face turned into a snarl.
"Bizarre Dolls, protect me. Protect the Veil." she roared. The main doors to the throne room burst open, and a swarm of bizarre dolls charged in.
"Shit!" Daphne muttered. "Kill the Nightmare Queen, and the bizarre dolls, don't let any slip through the portal!". The group rushed forward. Tracey slashed through a group of bizarre dolls, her blade slicing them at the waist easily, as if it were passing through butter.
"I get to kill the entire population of Hogwarts, and not fill in any paperwork for it?" she cried, happily. "Has someone been peeking at my christmas list?".
"Focus on what you're supposed to be doing!" Daphne cried, shooting a blasting hex at a nearby bizarre doll. The Nightmare Queen stood, watching the group struggle as the bizarre dolls overwhelmed them. The servants were doing surprisingly well. The butler was hacking and slicing away at them with only kitchen knives. The gardener was pounding them into the ground, causing them to come apart at the seams, literally. The maid was an excellent shot, and had decapitated all of the dolls she had aimed at so far. The housekeeper was slashing wildly with her blade. At this rate, all of the bizarre dolls would be dead in minutes. She smirked. Not that it mattered. There were plenty more where they came from. She could turn this whole world into bizarre dolls if she wanted. Then, she'd have an army like no other. Looking back over the throne room, she saw that the bizarre dolls had been massacred. Only a few remained now.
Sebastian jabbed the knife into the dolls throat, and pulled. The dolls throat came away with a wet ripping sound. The doll clutched at its throat, then fell to the ground uselessly. Tracey slashed through another group of dolls, decapitating the lot of them. One of the dolls approached Daphne from behind, arms outstretched, ready to grab her. Racey looked up and saw what was about to happen. "NO!" she cried, and sent a wandless Flipendo at the doll. It stumbled back a few steps, then stopped moving altogether. Everyone watched at the bizarre doll stood motionless for a few seconds, then fell back through the veil.
"Dammit!" Daphne cried. "Where does that go?" Daphne cried, rounding on the Nightmare Queen. The dark witch chuckled and stepped closer to Daphne, wrapping her arms around the petite blonde girls neck.
"I don't know. I can't imagine where it leads. It makes you wonder though, doesn't it? What might happen. One little bizarre doll. And yet, it can make all the difference.". Daphne suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Looking down, she saw a dagger, sticking out from her stomach. The Nightmare Queen smiled at her. "Welcome to the real world, Greengrass. Well, at least, one of them that is. The 'good guys' don't win, there are no happy endings. In the end, the most powerful side will always win. You're just a little girl with a ragtag team of servants. I-" The Nightmare Queen was cut off by a cough. Then a splutter. What surprised her most was the person who was coughing, and spluttering, was her. Looking down, she saw a white, bloodstained glove sticking out from her chest. Clutched in its palm, was a heart. Her heart.
"My apologies, but your manner is most unbecoming of a host." Sebastian smirked, and drew back his arm, still clutching the heart. The Nightmare Queen staggered for a moment, a look of shock still etched into her face. Daphne smiled at the girl, and pushed her backwards. She fell to the ground, her eyes glassy, amongst the bodies of the bizarre dolls.
"Is it over?" asked Neville.
"Yes, Neville." Daphne smiled. "It's over. It's all… over… now..." she mumbled, staggering back. "I guess she got me better than I thought she had."
"Young mistress?" Sebastian ran over, but he was too slow. The Veil enveloped her in a white light, and she slowly fell back, and vanished.
Greengrass Manor
The servants had moved the Veil into the dungeons of Greengrass manor, and were currently stood in front of the Veil deciding their next move. "One of us will remain with the manor, in the event that the young mistress should return." said Sebastian.
"I'll remain here." said Bellatrix.
"I'll go through first." said Neville. The others nodded.
"Take care, Neville."
"Careful, Nev." Tracey smiled. "Oh, and take this with you.". She handed Neville a book. "It's a modified soul collector grimoire. Whatever you write in there, will appear in our copies. It works across dimensions, so it should work across realities too. Here, one each for you two." she finished handing copies to Bellatrix and Sebastian, who nodded their thanks.
"Good luck, Neville." Bellatrix smiled, and pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss. Breaking the kiss, Neville grinned at her. "I won't be gone long.", and with that, he stepped through the veil.
"I'm going as well!" Tracey exclaimed. "It's my fault that the bizarre doll got through, It's my fault that the young mistress got hurt.".
"It's no-one's fault, Tracey." said Bellatrix.
"Even so, I'm going."
"Very well." Sebastian nodded. Tracey hugged Bellatrix, then turned to Sebastian. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Tracey wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. This kiss was far less aggressive than the one on the chandelier. It was much more passionate, almost tender. Bellatrix blushed, and turned away. Tracey ran her tongue over Sebastian's lips. "Tracey?" he questioned. The girl just giggled.
"Something to remember me by. Don't want you forgetting me now, do we, Bassy?" she giggled.
"If only that were possible." the butler muttered.
"I'll see you soon." she winked, and with one last kiss, stepped through the veil.
"My turn. Bellatrix, are you sure that you will be able to manage the manor alone?"
"I'm sure… Bassy." she grinned. The look on Sebastian's face could have made a statue quake in fear.
"You will mention that, to no-one. Understand?" he asked, his voice dangerously low. Bellatrix nodded meekly, and with that he stepped through the veil. Bellatrix climbed the stairs back to the main house, and closed the door behind her.
"I suppose I should make the beds, dust the furniture and sweep the floors. I'd hate for the young mistress to come home to a dirty house."
FIN