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Interlude III
Villa Zabini
Chiara Zabini knocked at her son's bedroom door and sighed when there was no answer.
She waited a minute before knocking again.
This time, he called out, bidding her to enter.
She opened the door, eyes only widening minutely at the sight of a dead, naked man on the floor.
"Would it really kill you to clean up after yourself?"
He just shrugged, not turning away from the window, his buttocks gleaming in the morning light.
"Or to put on some clothes?"
He laughed, coughing as he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"You really don't get to talk, mother. One of my earliest memories is walking in on you and number three"
"You were four years old. Are you going to keep bringing that up forever?"
He shrugged again, still not turning to look at her.
"You know, if you keep doing this, it'll be a lot harder to find a wizard willing to come home with you. Believe me. I know"
Finally, he turned around, walking over to the corpse and giving it a kick.
"I do know. And that's why this was a muggle. Not someone any of our crowd will notice gone"
She sat down on his bed, her eyes roaming his body clinically, ignoring the Mark and the older burns and cuts.
She kept her sigh of relief internal when she couldn't notice any new injuries.
"Blaise. Please. You need to talk to someone. One of your friends, or-"
He snorted, giving the muggle another kick.
"Who? Tell me, mother. Which of my friends aren't too busy with their own partners to talk to me?"
"You-"
"Harry's with Daphne, and if he wasn't, I still wouldn't talk to him. Not about this. Draco's with Astoria, when he isn't at the bank. Tracey vanished. Crabbe and Goyle are idiots, and Millicent's almost as bad. And Theo's dead. So who the fuck should I talk to?"
"Is there really no-one else?" She asked softly, watching his eyes carefully.
"No," he said, and his eyes darted to the left.
'Bingo'
"Really? I find that hard to believe"
"I'm telling you-"
"Blaise. Mio caro. Have you ever managed to lie to me?"
He kicked the muggle again, ignoring her.
"Have you?"
"No," he said sullenly, reaching for his wand.
She watched in silence, as
He transfigured and vanished
the corpse.
She waited for him to say something, but after a
few minutes, it became clear he wouldn't.
"What's his name?"
He muttered something, as he started pulling some clothes on.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear that? What's his name, Blaise?"
"Horatio"
He looked up face reddening.
"Does Horatio listen when you talk?"
He nodded.
"Then talk to him. He is beautiful, isn't he?"
He just glared at her.
"Blaise. You are not betraying Theo by moving on. He would not want you to satiate yourself with animals, or to sit lonely and miserable. He loved you"
"I know," he said softly.
"Would you want him to be doing what you are, were your positions reversed?"
He shook his head, hair flying out everywhere.
"Then why will you not talk to this Horatio?"
He looked her in the eye finally.
"Because-because if I move on, it means I'm letting go of him. It means I'm accepting it. That he's really not coming back. And I don't-I can't-I-"
She moved over quickly, pulling him into a tight hug, letting him sob on her shoulder.
"Shh. Shh. You are strong, little one. And Theo would want you to be strong. Theo would want you to live"
He cried thickly, reverting, in his mother's embrace, to a childhood state.
After a while, he pulled away and began rubbing at his eyes, still sniffling.
"Do me a favor. Talk to this Horatio. And when you come home tonight, I want you to tell me one thing that you learned about him today. Just one. Ok?"
"I-I don't know-"
"Just one. And if worst comes to worst, if he does not fill the gaping hole within you, well," she gestured to the empty space on the floor. "If Tracey could just disappear, so could he"
Tonks residence
She sat up, rubbing the bump on the back of her head.
'What-what happened?'
She looked around the dimly-lit house. "T-Ted? You there?"
She slowly stood, pushing her way off of the floor.
"Ted?"
No answer came.
Panic began clouding her mind, icy shards of fear stabbing their way into her heart.
"TED? TED? WHERE ARE YOU? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
She ran up the stairs, her trembling legs threatening to drop from below her and leave her on the floor again.
"TED? EDWARD?! EDWARD TONKS?"
She ran into their room, unable to think.
Ted wasn't there. No-one was there. Nothing but a note on their bed.
She picked it up and read it, the words meaning nothing.
She began to cry, tears fogging her vision, making the letter even harder to read than the contents did.
"Dearest Andromeda,
You stupid, worthless, blood-traitor bitch. I loved you. You were my sister. Shame of my blood, I loved you once.
I have been training your abomination of a daughter. She won't answer to that silly thing you called her. Her name is Capella now.
You should hear her scream, traitor. Hear how she curses your name.
It has taken me a lot of time and effort, but I've gotten through to her.
I was happy to put in the effort, to give up my time. After all, family is important, wouldn't you say so, traitor bitch?
She hates you now. She knows that everything I had to do to her is your fault.
Mother was never the same after you left, traitor. Muggle-loving whore.
You should hear how she begs me to kill her, traitor.
But all is well. She isn't an animal anymore.
Scream by scream, I have torn the taint out of her. You wouldn't even recognize her, traitor. Traitor bitch. Stupid cow, you family-ruining whore.
I have your mudblood. Capella is going to kill him.
She begged me to let her kill him. Begged me, traitor. Begged to be allowed to prove that she isn't the monstrosity you created anymore. To prove that she's Capella now. How do you like that, traitor?
It's not too late for you. Come back. Your mudblood is dead, your daughter is purified. Come back. Cissy and I miss our sister.
We loved you.
Come back, you Muggle-loving, coward whore.
I left you alive when I visited your home. To give you a chance. Come back. We will welcome you with open arms. Come back, traitor. Come back.
Toujours Pur"
The Spiny Serpent
Rookwood raised a hand, and a waiter immediately turned to face him.
"Another. For both of us"
The waiter scurried off, arriving at their table moments later with two large glasses of firewhisky.
"H-here y-you go. No charge, of course" he said, trying to smile at them.
Rookwood just looked at him blankly.
"You already told us that. Do we strike you as fools?"
The waiter paled, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"N-n-no, sir"
"Then," said the other occupant of the small booth, "may I suggest you cease with your ridiculous attempts at sycophancy?"
"Of c-course, P-P-Professor"
Snape leaned forward, giving the man his best sneer.
"I am not a professor anymore. And do you know what that means?"
The terrified waiter shook his head mutely.
"It means, that there are no rules about what I can and can't do to those who annoy me"
The waiter ran.
"Do you miss it?"
Snape turned to Rookwood, absentmindedly clinking their glasses together.
"Being a professor?"
Rookwood nodded.
"I would hand myself over to Potter and Greengrass sooner than agreeing to teach Potions again"
Rookwood's eyebrows rose.
"That bad?"
"Insufferable, arrogant dunderheads, hormone-crazed teenagers, Gryffindors. Not a one who could appreciate the beauty of a softly simmering concoction, none of them willing to simply obey the damn instructions"
He took a sip of his drink.
"I wanted to teach Defence," he admitted, "teach the brats how to fight. Dumbledore wouldn't let me"
Rookwood snorted into his drink.
"Honestly, I think I still would. Once we take Hogwarts. I liked teaching. But I loathed having to watch them ruin my favorite subject"
"You were training Potter and Malfoy, right?"
Snape nodded.
"He'll let. Hell, He'll probably order you to do it"
"As long as He doesn't want me to be Head of House again" he muttered darkly.
Rookwood began to chuckle. "As bad as teaching Potions?"
"Worse, in some ways. The little shits thought I was their friend. Telling me about how homesick they are, how their roommates snore, how they can't make friends"
Rookwood broke out into a full-bellied laugh, slapping his hand onto the table once or twice.
And they sat in a comfortable silence, sipping at their drinks.
"How's it been going? With the potions?"
"It's moving along. The Imperius Potion's done. Was difficult, making such large batches, but it's done. The Sterility Potion, now that's a different story. I've worked through most of the issues," Snape said, thoughtfully, "but it's difficult. We don't want squibs to be affected. Managed to get wizards excluded from its effects, but squibs are a lot more difficult"
"So what? Why does he care so much about squibs?"
Snape sighed, raising a hand.
The waiter saw it and squawked, running over with another two glasses of firewhisky. He didn't attempt to talk to them this time.
"The chances of a squib couple bearing wizarding children are over seventy percent," Snape said, adopting a lecturing tone. "And our population is far too small for us to cast aside that potential. Besides, He wants a steady supply of squibs for experimentation. And that's not even mentioning their uses for menial tasks"
Rookwood grunted.
"Still, it'll be a while. Very, very finicky work. A regular sterility potion is difficult enough. This? It has to affect muggles only, has to be entirely unnoticeable, can't be removed by their filters. It's tough work"
"But it'll be worth it when it's ready"
"That it will," Snape said, raising his glass to Rookwood's.
"You know," Rookwood said, scratching at his arm "we're the last of the old guard. Bella doesn't count, too crazy. We're the last Death Eaters from last time"
Snape nodded.
"But the new kids aren't doing too badly. You trained them well, Snape. You did well"
"They're practically as bad as Bella," Snape said, thinking about Harry's earnest expression as he offered his former professor some time with the Weasley girl.
"Worse, actually. They're still young. They haven't had a chance to mellow out. But He likes them, so it's fine. I'm telling you, Snape. He's happy with you. He'll give you anything you want"
A smile twisted its way across Snape's lips as he raised his glass.
His eyes locked across the room, onto a woman sitting by herself, her auburn hair framing her pale face.
Her eyes were blue, but that hair, that skin.
It tugged at him the way Lily's appearance once had, a lifetime before.
He felt happier than he had in years.
And finally willing to try again, to try for another chance at not being alone forever.
"Anything at all" he murmured, nodding to Rookwood and beginning to stand.
Lucas Residence, Brighton
She stood just outside the neat garden, staring at her dark house with wide eyes and a twitchy grin.
The stench reached the street now.
As the pile of rotting bodies grew, the smell permeated further and further.
First, it had been two of her mother's friends, coming to check on her after she hadn't been to the book club for a while and hadn't been answering the phone.
She'd laughed as she struck them down, cried as she levitated their bodies, placing them in the basement with her mother.
The next day, it'd been one of her father's drinking buddies.
Him she'd stunned, letting him wake up among the corpses.
Making him scream before he died.
Then, today.
Two policemen.
They joined the pile.
But time was running short. When the police didn't return, it could only be so long before more were sent after them.
And she might be a good fighter, but if there were enough of them if they all had guns...
So she stood outside the house, smelling the rank, decomposing flesh.
And she raised her wand, tears streaming down her face as she laughed.
'It was meant to be good! She was meant to be happy!'
"Incendio!"
She waited until flames engulfed it until that cursed smell was blocked out by the thick columns of smoke.
Then she spun, apparating away with a crack.
Hogwarts dungeons
Grindelwald sat on his throne, paging through the photographs.
His warriors stood before him, shifting nervously from foot to foot.
The photographs told a tale. A very sad one.
The murder of almost an entire family.
The total ruination of a young girl.
His glance swung back to the picture, to see her crying as she cut off her broken, flayed, burned hand.
He paged through them again.
The word "whore" cut into her chest.
A group of what were clearly werewolves in human form surrounding her, all of them erect.
Semen, bite marks, scratches, and blood covering her.
Her eyeball hanging out of its socket, the nerves and veins still attached, letting it hang down onto her cheek.
A large cut on her stomach, her innards visible through it.
Her mouth wide open, needles pushed into the gums where teeth should have been.
Fires lit under her feet, her arms chained above her head, a spike forced through her remaining hand.
"Please, Lord. Please. She's-she's our sister. The-the last of our family. We can't just leave her in that situation. We can't. Please"
"This is surely a trap," he said, looking up from the compendium of horrors. "Without a doubt"
The twin who had spoken swallowed, not breaking his gaze.
"Still. Still. We can't-"
'For the greater good'
"You would be handing yourselves into their care. Do you think you would be treated any better? Do you think your capture would improve her lot? This is a trap. They did not merely send you these pictures, conveniently showing you where she is, in order to wage psychological warfare. They want you to try and rescue her. And they will be prepared"
"They-"
"Look"
She moved, in the picture. Tied upside down by broken legs, she was lowered, her head going into a bucket of water.
Right above her toeless feet, carved into the wall, was the Malfoy family crest.
"Do you truly believe this was accidental? They want you to know where she is. They want you to come"
"We could-we could send inferi! Distract them! Make an attack somewhere else, make them have to deal with it!"
"And that already worked once. Do you think it will work again?"
Patil finally spoke, her hands twined in each of the boys'.
"Please, Lord. We can take a Blood Portkey, attuned to the Weasleys and me. You've taught us enough Blood Magic that we'd be able to escape, even without a wand. Please, Lord. She's all they have left"
"There are wards that can block Blood Magic. Voldemort learns from his mistakes. He will surely be prepared to face my forte"
"We can't just leave her there! We can't!"
He locked eyes with Fred.
"Do you truly believe that she would even be willing to leave?"
"Of course, she-"
He raised a gnarled hand, silencing the boy.
"You forget, that I have seen and done more than my fair share of torture. Of utter destruction. They have had her for a month. By this point, she is surely too frightened, too broken to even attempt escape"
George moaned and squeezed Padma's hand tighter. Fred's face hardened.
"Then I'll force her to leave"
"You will achieve nothing other than your own death or capture," He snarled, leaning forward in his throne. "I forbid it"
"I'm prepared to die to get her out of that!"
"You will sacrifice the war for her? How many other sisters will you doom to death in your stupidity?"
"I-"
"Am bonded! What will happen to your bonded fellows upon your torture and death? What will happen to me? Your inability to put her aside will lose us the war"
"I DON'T CARE!"
Grindelwald softened his tone, ignoring the urge to blast the brat into a thousand pieces, ignoring the Wand's humming.
"I understand that this is difficult. But you will be playing directly into their hands. Please. I can not force you not to go. But I cannot give you permission to lose us this war"
"What war?! We've been hiding here, doing nothing but strengthening our defenses, while he takes over the fucking world! We've lost! And you're too much of a coward to face him!"
He breathed deeply, holding it in before exhaling.
"Control your insolence. I will face Voldemort on my own terms. And even if I face him now, it will accomplish nothing! Not with his Horcruxes. You will not go. I forbid it"
Fred spat on the floor and stormed out.
'They're going to go. No matter what I say, they will go. And if I lock them up, it will only make them more set on this course of action'
"Calm him down," he said, waving his hand at the remaining two. "Stop him from making foolish decisions"
George wouldn't meet his eyes, but Padma nodded slowly, giving him a tinge of hope.
"Mark my words. If you go, if any of you are lost. It will mean the end of our fight"
The study, Lord Voldemort's Manor.
He sat on the throne in His newly reconstructed study, sipping an exquisite wine and paging through an ancient tome.
And still, His brilliant mind wondered.
'Will Grindelwald fall into it?'
He shook His head ruefully.
'Unlikely. He is too intelligent. If he does, however, there will be distractions that I would not be able to afford ignoring. However, if there are Inferi, I can send the vampires. But he would not try the same thing twice. And we have guards on the major cemeteries. He will not be able to use them, not easily'
He sipped deeply, swirling the wine around his mouth before swallowing.
'What, then? Another attempted uprising? Guerrilla attacks? Poltergeists?'
He rose and began to pace, focusing entirely on the question at hand.
'He will not be foolish enough. But does he have a tight enough reign on his three? Will he be able to prevent them from coming? Perhaps. If so, dare I leave Hogwarts much longer? Already, my enemies flock to it, to the bastion of their old civilization. Perhaps I should attack it either way'
He grimaced, walking over to the bookshelf and withdrawing a book.
He paged through Hogwarts: A History until he reached the section of the school's security measures.
'And this is without the additions he has made. It would be unwise to attack Hogwarts before all is optimal. Very unwise. Even with the Cabinet undiscovered, I will not be able to sneak too large a force in. Perhaps, if any of the Hogsmeade residents were willing to parlay, that would improve the situation. But who?'
An idea came to Him, and He sat again, resting His chin on His fist, the glass of wine hovering beside Him.
'Perhaps. She has always been neutral. She would require great promises, and of course, the allowance to continue with her research, but it could work. Yes, it could work. Nevertheless, I should wait. See whether Grindelwald manages to prevent his three from following their instincts'
'Africa and Australia will have to wait. They will both be most difficult'
Try as they might, the Death Eaters had been unable to fight any factions in Africa willing to assist them.
Never before had Lord Voldemort seen a group of people so united in their desire to stand against Him. It would almost be enough to grant them respect in His eyes.
Almost, but not quite.
And Australia was entirely warded. The entire country. No entry or exit, no communications.
Of course, the squibs could be able to prove themselves there. No self-respecting witch or wizard could be able to go undercover as a muggle.
A squib, however, could.
And they were willing to do whatever they could to avoid sharing the muggles' fates.
It would take time, plenty of it.
But He was immortal.
He had nothing if not time.
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