Yo! Things are looking good for this fic! I've only written the beginning of the next chapter so far, but I'm planning out chapter seventeen right now, so that's good, at least. Thank you to all readers so far!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...
It was time for lunch, but, understandably, no one was feeling particularly hungry. Harry ended up cooking anyway, even though there was no guarantee anyone would actually eat the food. It was a form of meditation for him, and right now, he really needed to calm down and think.
So used to cooking after all the years he had done so at the Dursleys', Harry worked on auto-pilot, lost in his whirling and confused thoughts. Lost enough that he didn't realize Marvolo had entered the room and was now standing, leaning against the back counter out of his way, watching him closely.
No matter who was behind this, what exactly were their motivations? They had just killed a member from both sides of the previous war. Had just killed a member of both the Light, and the Dark. So, unless they were trying to start something between them, between the two sides, were they just against these sides? Against both the Light and Dark?
Was Luna, dear, sweet, weird Luna just a victim of chance? Was she only killed because she had ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, all on her own? If that was true, then they were showing progression, because Narcissa and Bellatrix had been together, and both were grown women with admittedly good skill. It couldn't have been easy to catch them both off guard.
"This man-this killer must be quite powerful," said Marvolo suddenly, as if having heard Harry's thoughts. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if he had.
To his credit, the young man didn't even start, and simply glanced over his shoulder, finding the older man casually reclining against one of the counters, his crimson eyes locked on him. He turned back to the food. "Either that or he's just really bloody lucky," he replied tensely.
Marvolo inclined his head, acknowledging that, despite the fact that Harry couldn't see it. It was true that any one of them could have done this, realistically, but honestly, they didn't really want to consider one of them being behind this. They knew it was possible-they just didn't want it to be true.
"Is this person really trying to stir things up?" Harry asked abruptly, stirring the blood like sauce in a large pot. "Do they really want another war to break out? Why would anyone want that!?"
Marvolo stepped forward and set his hands on his old enemy's shoulders. "Calm yourself, Harry," he said softly. "There is no use in getting worked up."
"But the war was horrible! They can't want all that death and destruction again. I don't..." he trailed off.
But Marvolo understood. Harry didn't want to have to fight again. In many ways, the younger man thought it was a miracle he had even survived this long. And now that things had finally become peaceful, they had some stranger stirring things up all over again. Sure, little rebellions had and occasionally still did pop up every now and again, but this was clearly targeting some of the main people involved, half of which had merely been children at the time!
The two fell silent for a while, and Marvolo once more moved out of Harry's way, watching him as he returned to his cooking. The Dark Lord understood what Harry was feeling, and he wasn't particularly pleased himself. Once both sides had agreed on peace, they had worked hard to obtain it. Members of both sides had worked hard to build a life that didn't revolve around a war.
And now everything they had achieved was at stake-at risk. Marvolo despised that. Whoever this person was, was going to learn why it was a terrible idea to cross the Dark Lord Voldemort.
Done cooking, Harry took at seat at the nearby table, and buried his head in his hands. Were the rest of them still in danger, he wondered? Who was going to be attacked next? There was really no way to tell, because moving from Luna to Narcissa was such a big jump.
...Actually, in that case, maybe they would make another jump. Maybe they would attack Severus or Lucius next-since the two more were skilled than Narcissa and Bellatrix. Or would they make an even bigger jump and attack Marvolo or Harry next? That was also a rather likely possibility.
The four of them needed to be very careful now. All of them did, really...
As the others were called for lunch, some chose to eat, while others didn't. Harry wasn't surprised, and thanked Remus quietly as he placed a stasis charm on the food. They could help themselves whenever they felt hungry, or just eat it for dinner. Better than letting it all go to waste.
But even as the hours passed, no one was really sure if they were willing to split up again. If moving in twos hadn't been good enough-hadn't protected, hadn't saved Narcissa, then, well, how large a group did they need to stay in to be kept safe?
And why the fuck couldn't they get out of this god damn manor!?
And that's it for now. Hopefully the next chapter will be finished quickly too. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!
