A/N: Here we are folks, two years after I drafted the first chapter of this story.
Before you proceed to read the next chapter I would like to mention a few things:
First of all, you might have noticed that the rating of this story has recently gone up. There is a reason for it. Violence has escalated, the language will not be so mild anymore and some of the topics in the story are not exactly for very young people.
On the good side, some of you were probably wondering where the romance in this story is, especially since until now it looks like the main characters seem to be fighting all the time. Romance will soon be in the air (well, as soon as winter holidays will be drawing near in the story and in real life )
Finally, one word about reviews. I am not particularly keen about reviews, but I noticed that the story is on the alert and favorites list of quite a lot of people and it would be nice if you would also comment on what is going on in the story. There are a lot of plot twists and cliffhangers (like the one at the end of this chapter) so it would be good to know your thoughts. Feed-back is always important and welcome for a writer.
Chapter 20
Vampire Heart
A few hours were left before the midnight arrival of their visitors. Vampires could not travel during daylight. Tom went to sit in the drawing room on the ground floor, where they usually organized their meetings, leaving the door open so he would keep an eye on the preparations that were being made by his people. He sat down at the long, oak table opposite the door, his forehead resting on the palms of his hands, thinking hard. He had a decision to make, and it was not easy. It involved his cousin: What the hell had he been thinking when he had told Snape to make her revitalizing potions? But now it was too late, and he could not go back on his decisions. The funny thing was that he still felt like he was on the right path, although it went against all logic and common sense. It was easier to face the consequences now, with a clear head and feeling stronger than ever. So what if she was still alive? The Death Eaters knew she had to be his relative, a Slytherin descendant—and a powerful one by all appearances. Twenty years ago, he would have been happy to recruit someone like her, but lately fear for his own life had driven him out of his mind, and he was far too careful to see the potential of other people anymore. However, they had not gone so far previously without brilliant people in his command, such as Snape. They needed people to brew potions, people to cure the wounded, people to negotiate — Merlin knew he was a bad negotiator — and so on. Now that he was out of danger, Liliana was not a true menace to him. Why not try to convince her to join them? She was powerful and smart, and she could easily infiltrate Hogwarts and blow Dumbledore's plan. Tom was dying to know what the old man had concocted, and Liliana was most probably the key to their success. But how could he convince her to confide in him? She surely hated his guts. Maybe there was something she wanted and he could offer her. What was her Achilles' heel? Of one thing he was certain: He would have to use more of his manipulative, clever side on her this time rather than his usual method of torture.
He decided that it was time to confront his cousin. It was no simple task, since she seemed determined to keep her distance from him. She had disappeared as soon as she had seen him. He was expecting a hex instead, or at least a try. As he wandered around the house, he met Bella who looked surprisingly well in a green silk dress. She turned him in the right direction, telling him that Liliana had taken the stairs to the attic. Tom went that way, trying to ignore the strange feeling that Bella's eyes were still locked on his retreating figure. He found his cousin in an empty room in the attic, staring out of a small window. He stayed in the doorframe for a few minutes studying her. She seemed unaware of his presence, but Tom knew that it was virtually impossible. When he had first seen her, she had seemed vulnerable and feeble to him, as she lay so defenseless, asleep on her bed. It was not the case now. He could clearly see that she was quite tall and that her body had known the strict physical exercise program that Durmstrang imposed on all of its students.
When she finally turned around, her expression was one of unmasked revulsion.
Tom closed the door quietly and put up a silencing spell. He closed the distance between them, a look of curiosity in his dark eyes. She stared at him bluntly, and though he used Legilimency, he could not see anything in her mind. It was as if she was devoid of any feeling or thought. That, or she was an accomplished occlumens, which was very unlikely for her age. His beautiful face contorted in frustration, and it was only then that Liliana realized in her turn that he had used Legilimency on her.
"Since when does Lord Voldemort keep his promises?" she asked coldly.
He managed to keep his face blank and his tone flat as he answered, "I always honor my promises."
"That's not what I heard," she replied, her eyes still adverted, as if the mere sight of him was making her sick. "So what now?" she continued, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Can I go?"
"Not just yet," he replied, his eyes still probing. "There is something else that you asked me for. What did you want?"
She looked up sharply. "Knowledge," she said.
"Knowledge," he repeated slowly, his lips curling into a smirk. "That's a broad topic, don't you think?"
"I have only one question actually," she said.
"Now I am really disappointed, dear cousin. You only have one question for the Dark Lord? How strange!"
It was strange indeed — and so was calling her "cousin" when they were barely related. Enough to resuscitate my body, though, he mused.
She ignored the sarcasm. "You just pointed out it was a broad topic. And I am well aware that you would never answer any question, so why bother to ask?" She had quoted Harry without even realizing it.
Tom leaned against the window sill and played with his early idea of finding out what his cousin's interest was.
"You really have not understood yet, have you?" he asked.
She gave him a guarded look. "Understand what?"
He glanced through the window, his eyes meditative. For a second, devoid of any anger, his face was of such pure, calm beauty that Liliana thought again that the man standing in front of her could not be Lord Voldemort. It was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on the monster and not be distracted by the glamorous façade. She had never seen his younger self before. He had something of the Slytherins in him, something about his moves and stance and tone of voice. The high-pitched tone had disappeared; instead, he spoke in a rich, commanding voice. But the rest of him was unknown to Liliana, and she wondered again about his Muggle father. He had probably inherited his good looks — from his dark, slightly wavy hair to his strong stature — from his father. When he had entered the room, her mind had gone blank just at the sight of him.
None of this mattered when it all came down to the fact that he was the worst of murderers. Liliana felt nauseated again at the thought that she had found him alluring even for one moment when she did not know who was hiding behind the glossy mask.
"Why I have so many followers in the first place. What made them come to me, what made them take the Dark Mark," Tom said, distracting her from her thoughts.
"Fear?" she suggested.
He gave her an almost pleasant smile. "By all means, do continue to lie to yourself, cousin. And please let Dumbledore fuel these lies further." He was almost pleased with himself as he added: "Know thy enemy; if you don't, you will lose the war."
"How wise," the girl remarked sarcastically.
"Actually, it's quite an old saying," he replied in the same calm tone he had used before, looking around casually. "It was Hufflepuff who once said it to Gryffindor, as he was too much of a hothead to go to a duel with a rival of his and not learn anything about him beforehand."
"And you did?"
He folded his arms and looked at her again. As he stayed quiet, she asked: "Did you learn about me before coming to Hogwarts the other night?"
He hesitated. It was not her business, but he decided to make his point: "I do not consider you a rival in any way, but I did find out who you were and remembered about your past and your parents before I came to kill you."
Ignoring Liliana's angry stare as he mentioned her parents, he continued: "The reason why my Death Eaters followed me was because I was giving them the knowledge to pursue their dream for power. Everything wrapped up in a polished ideology. Pure-blood supremacy. You see, it all comes down to the same thing you want, Liliana, knowledge. Knowledge is power."
She almost shuddered when he said her name; his smoldering and fascinating eyes locked on hers. It took her a few good moments to realize he was playing with her mind again. It was not hard to see how he had managed to manipulate the crowds so easily. After years of training, her mind had almost betrayed her. Almost.
"So, let me get this straight... If I decide to become a follower, a Death Eater, I would have access to all the knowledge I dreamt of. Is that what you're saying?" The sarcasm was still in her voice.
Tom was a little bit taken by surprise by Liliana's ability to fight him off so easily. Moreover, he disliked the sneer she hardly concealed in the tone of her voice. It was not easy to deal with her, even for him. But he was a man used to getting what he wanted. He knew he had to be more convincing. He swallowed his disappointment and said, "Knowledge you have not even dreamt of yet, but you will soon. Let me give you a taste of it."
Before she could protest, he grabbed her arm, used a nonverbal spell to make the wall behind him disappear, and jumped off from the third floor of the manor. Liliana had to fight the urge to close her eyes, but a moment later they were standing on solid ground, in the garden behind Lucius's house. Tom walked quickly, dragging her after him. This is sort of becoming a habit, Liliana mused.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, trying to yank her arm out of his rough hold.
"I heard that you are a decent flyer," he said. Decent was not the word Lucius had used, but he enjoyed diminishing her abilities.
They had reached the outline of trees guarding Lucius' property, and soon they were able to see the large strand of beach in front them.
"Therefore, you will be able to appreciate this," he continued and flicked his wand.
Liliana gasped as they plunged into the dark space before them, rising at dizzying heights above the sea level, their faces and bodies swept by the cold November breeze.
Tom loosened his grip on her arm and held her by the wrist instead, allowing her more space. It was not something his cousin particularly seemed to appreciate, because she fought to grab back his hand. He turned his head a little to the left, hiding his smile. Maybe it was being human again, but another human's touch did not seem to bother him that much. Before the magical transfer, human touch seemed to burn him, as his own skin was so cold. He threw a warming spell around them and watched his cousin calm down progressively and enjoy the flight.
"So?" he asked after a while.
"What?" she asked, because the wind was sweeping too strongly against them, and Tom's word seemed to disperse with it.
He muttered irritably a "Sonorus" and asked again: "What do you think?"
"How fast can you go?" she asked as loud as she could.
"There is no speed limit — as much as you can handle without blacking out. I believe that in a couple of hours you could be in Poland if you wished."
Liliana was quiet, meditative, and Tom sped up to show her he was not joking. Her grip on his hand intensified, and he noted she was looking down, at the wavering sea below, where the full moon was reflected.
"Merlin," she breathed. He did not hear her, but he guessed the word from the movement of her lips.
"The name is Tom, not Merlin. I doubt he could fly like this," he said.
She closed her eyes and relaxed, and Tom smirked. She was enjoying this too much for her own good.
"Turn around please," she said suddenly, a few minutes later.
"Why cousin, I thought you were enjoying this. What happened?" he asked. He felt once gain like laughing.
She made a move to let go of his hand and Tom strengthened his grip on her wrist.
"Don't play with me, girl," he hissed. I am in no mood to fetch you from this freezing water, he though instinctively, but the words never left his mouth.
He flicked his wand again, and soon they were flying back to the manor.
Once they landed on the beach and she felt solid ground under her feet, Liliana pushed him away harshly.
"You made your point, but you are wasting your time. Why don't you just kill me so we finish off this masquerade? I am not as good as you when it comes to lying and deceiving."
Tom put away his wand. His voice was a mere whisper when he said, "I have given my word that I would let you go, and I will keep my promise. I just ask for more time, that's all. I have things to show you."
His eyes fastened on Liliana's, but he was not happy with what he saw deeply hidden in her mind: fear and revulsion again. But instead, she said, completely composed, "It's an amazing spell, but why would you need it, if you can Apparate?"
He drew back from her thoughts. He had to give her credit. Playing innocent would have worked well on others. Not on him fortunately.
"That's the point, Apparition requires a license, which means that the Ministry controls who goes where, and they can track you. No one can track this spell. So you see, it's not that I don't enjoy flying a broom, au contraire. But a broom is not this fast."
Liliana took a few steps towards the house. "Now you will be able to travel anywhere."
"Precisely," he said, catching up with her. "Is this knowledge enough for you?"
"I have always dreamt of flying without a broom," she said. "But this is not the knowledge I was referring to."
"Then what is it?" he asked, without hiding his curiosity.
Liliana knew she was skating on very thin ice, but she also knew it was unlikely that she would ever get an opportunity like this again. She tried to hide the tremble in her voice. This was her one chance to save Harry.
"The spell you wanted to hit Harry Potter with backfired when you lost your powers. Is that correct?" she checked.
Tom stopped walking.
"Why do you ask this?"
She turned to look at him: "Yes or no?"
Tom resisted the urge to hex her and played along. "Everyone knows this by now. Yes, that's how I lost my powers. I cursed him, and his mother sacrificed herself. The curse backfired. It left me without my powers and him with a scar. Pretty convenient, ha?"
He sounded angry. The bastard, she thought. He had almost killed Harry, and he was the one angry and frustrated. And now she had been stupid enough to give him his body back. Well, maybe she did not have a choice, but perhaps she should have let him kill her. No idiot, she scolded herself, your death would not have helped anyone.
"So how come you are not dead? Avada Kedavra is the supreme killing curse. Why are you alive?" She started to walk toward the house again.
Tom was quiet behind her for a moment, and then he moved swiftly to face her. He was holding his wand menacingly at her throat.
"What are you playing at?" he asked gruffly, his eyes blazing again.
"I am not playing. I want to know what kept you alive," she said, standing her ground when the tip of his wand pressed harshly against her neck.
"So this is it then? This is what you were trying to find out? The secret of my immortality?"
"Yes," she breathed.
Tom let out a short, humorless bark of laughter and lowered his wand. "I should have known a Slytherin would always want the worst," he said, and for a moment he looked disappointed. "How is it that Dumbledore has not solved this mystery yet? By now, he must know that I have attained immortality somehow. Did he not speak of this?"
"No, not to me at least," she replied evenly, hoping he would not see through her. "Dumbledore does not trust me. Even if he knew, he would not tell me."
"Quite pathetic, cousin. But I know the man, and since he had never trusted me, he would never trust another Slytherin, especially after all that I have done. I know why you want to know, because you think you will live forever, just as I thought when I was your age. In reality, all that it does is to keep you alive when your body is destroyed. It cannot keep you alive unless you concoct a new body each time you are getting older, which is impossible."
Liliana resumed walking.
"Will you not tell me?"
"Give up my secret to you, girl? Are you mad?" he exclaimed.
"You promised me," she said. "I gave you what you wanted. You don't keep your promises. No pure-blood would act like that."
She did not even have the time to blink before Tom had her pinned against a tree. "Maybe I am not a pure-blood, but I keep my promises," he whispered in her ear. "But I don't think you can handle the truth, Liliana. Moreover, my secret cannot serve you well. You need to learn how to kill in cold blood, you see. Then we can talk about my secrets."
Liliana ignored the funny flutter in her stomach when Tom's breath caressed the shell of her ear. "Don't tell me what I can handle," she replied pushing him back. Awfully sensitive about your half-blood origins, aren't you? At last, I can touch a nerve there.
He sneered and let go of her.
"If you really want to know this, then join my followers. When I am sure of your loyalty, then maybe I will share my secret with you."
Liliana scowled. "Not if you were to beg, Voldemort!" she spat and continued to walk towards the house.
Tom slowed his pace gradually, letting her disappear inside the Manor. His cousin was more stubborn than he had imagined. What is going on in that complicated mind of hers? he wondered. There was only one way to find out. He needed to keep an eye on her at all times. He had to show her what his world was made of. Maybe then she could be persuaded to turn against her allies.
When he entered the house, he found the Death Eaters prepared to receive their guests.
"They should be here anytime, milord," Bella told him.
"Very well," he said, "the moment they arrive, take them to the Council room. I shall join you in a minute."
As the Death Eaters trotted to their tasks, Tom stopped Narcissa Malfoy.
"Go find Liliana; she is to join us for the meeting," he said, ignoring her terrified expression.
Liliana returned, seething, to her newly discovered shelter in the attic. She kicked the door closed and started pacing back and forth without even realizing what she was doing. Her mind was feverish, cursing her own stupidity and cowardice furiously. How could she be such a pathetic idiot? It was not enough that she had helped Voldemort get back his fool strength, while almost draining her of her magical energy, but now she had almost let herself be bewitched by his power and skills.
She had not experienced such a great feeling of freedom and happiness when flying with him above the sea since she was still a child and she had ridden her dragon to liberty. She had almost let down her guard, and it had felt wonderful.
It had felt like magic. She could have probably gone as far as Warsaw without even giving a thought about it. It might have been the magical transfer, but as they were flying, she did not perceive Voldemort's presence at her side as being dangerous. She could just close her eyes and enjoy herself for once.
But she had forgotten who had made her feel almost happy for the first time in so many years. She hated that Voldemort had made her feel again, and she hated him even more for being the one to trigger that reaction within her.
She finally calmed down and went to sit on the window sill. From there, she could see Lucius welcoming a delegation of six people. They had to be the vampires everyone was expecting. It was nothing that could really amaze her now; she had understood quite easily that Voldemort had no scruples at all, not even when it came to allying himself to dangerous creatures such as vampires.
Wizards and vampires were species that had carefully stayed off each other's paths for centuries. Vampires were wicked creatures, unable to suppress their thirst for human blood. They usually preyed on Muggles and kept their distance from the wizards' towns.
Although they did not have magical powers, they had other qualities that made them extremely dangerous. They were much faster and stronger, and they had excellent instincts that made them amazing hunters. A wizard without a wand would not have stood a chance against them. That was why in their turn, wizards also preferred to stay away from vampires.
Unfortunately, this truce had been broken a couple of times. The last time had been in the sixteen century when a wizard had started a conflict that had ended up with an entire wizard village being ravaged by furious vampires and more than fifty wizards dead.
Nevertheless, Voldemort was receiving the worst kind of vampires — the more cautious type would have never attended such a meeting — trying to turn them against his own kind. His selfishness was making her sick; his cruelty knew no boundaries. He was about to provoke complete and utter chaos and for what? What would remain of the wizarding world when this war was over?
She had to stop him somehow before he broke the truce again.
Liliana jumped from the window sill as the vampire delegation entered the Manor. When she opened the door, she found herself face to face with Narcissa Malfoy.
"He has asked me to bring you to the meeting downstairs," the woman said apprehensively.
Liliana smiled. It seemed that fate was on her side after all.
To Harry's surprise, his and Malfoy's trip was not too long. About an hour and a half after they had left Hogsmeade, Draco landed his broom in the peripheries of a small town. Harry followed his example.
"Voldemort lives here?" he asked.
Draco transfigured their brooms into two small pieces of wood, kept one of them, and gave the other to Harry.
"No, not here," he said, shuddering a little. "He lives in my house. Malfoy Manor is just behind this hill. Now let's go."
Harry hid his surprise at Draco's words and walked quietly at his side for a while. As they climbed the hill, through a thick and dark forest, he wondered again what had changed in Draco. The Slytherin was definitely not the arrogant but cowardly boy he used to know.
"I should give you some details about the house. It has been his for several months now. My parents are his prisoners, and he is treating them terribly. There is no apparition on the grounds, and at least twenty people are always present in the house for his protection — as if he needed it. Everyone knows he has done something to himself and has become immortal." Draco stopped and listened carefully.
"There are people in the garden. Death Eaters," he whispered. "We will have to be careful. Why aren't they sleeping? It's past midnight already!"
"Where do you think he's keeping her?" Harry asked.
"There are some muddy dungeons where I used to play as a kid, but now they have been put to use again."
"How do we get there?"
"Let's get into the garden first, and then we'll worry about that," Draco replied, his eyes intent on the path ahead.
Harry nodded and took out his wand. Draco did the same and led Harry through the pack of trees towards his family's garden. When they reached the high fence, both boys climbed it quickly and jumped silently on the other side. Draco handed Harry his Invisibility cloak and the Gryffindor threw it on both of them, leading the way towards the handsome Manor before them.
"So what now?" he asked Draco. "Do you know of any secret entrances or hidden passages?"
"Actually, yes," Draco said. "Turn right at the corner. There is one passage leading in the family library. From there, we can try to sneak in the Dungeons. I have not used it for a while, but it should still work."
"OK," Harry whispered, hearing voices not far from them.
When they reached the wall Draco was looking for, the Slytherin hesitated. He said a few spells, but nothing worked.
"They seemed to have put a password on it. And guess what, it's in Parseltongue."
"So this means that Voldemort is using it now?"
"It's very likely."
Harry pushed Draco aside and was not surprised to find the password very easily, when he said "Nagini," in Parseltongue. "Very imaginative guy," he said. Malfoy smirked in reply, and they climbed through the open passage.
They walked through a long corridor for a while before reaching the library on the ground floor. Voices could be heard from the neighboring drawing room, but the two wizards headed in the opposite direction towards a flight of stairs leading to the dungeons.
They didn't meet any of Voldemort's followers on the way, but as soon as they got to the basement, they realized that there were people imprisoned there. They checked the small cells several times, but Liliana was no where to be found.
The prisoners, most of whom Harry and Draco did not know, begged to be released. Harry was tempted to give them their freedom, but Draco forbade him.
"Are you mad?" he growled in Harry's year. "The Death Eaters will be here in the blink of an eye."
Disappointed by Liliana's absence, they climbed back the stairs.
"Where can she be?" Harry asked, throwing back the Invisibility cloak on both of them.
Draco did not answer.
"Do you think she's in that room?" Harry pressed on.
Draco rolled his eyes.
"Probably, unless Voldemort decided to give her his room," he mocked. "There's no way I am going into that room, Potter. That's where they hold their councils. We wait here until they are done."
"But what if he kills her? Maybe he brought her from the dungeons to kill her."
"For all I know, he might have killed her already. We are not going to enter a room full of Death Eaters where Voldemort presides unless we want to die, too. Try not to be a hothead for once."
"Slytherins," Harry mumbled under his breath, though he knew Malfoy was probably right.
When Liliana entered the drawing room, guided by Narcissa, who held her arm, she could not make much of the room. It was rather dark; some torches on the walls and some candles on the large table in the middle were the only sources of light. It was insufficient, but their guests enjoyed darkness, as their eyes were perfectly capable of seeing at night. It was probably a friendly gesture to accommodate them.
As Narcissa guided her firmly through the room, Liliana squinted, trying to figure out where Voldemort sat. It was not necessary though, as a second later she heard his rich, velvety voice filling the room. To her surprise, Narcissa led her to sit at his side, across from Snape.
As she took her seat, she threw Severus a glance that the professor did not return; his attention was focused on the Dark Lord. He seemed so absorbed by his words that if she did not know him, she could have believed he was downright fascinated by Voldemort. She turned her head to glance at him and had to fight the surge of fear that shot through her when his smoldering, dark eyes rested on her. His stance was intimidating, and she had never seen him chairing a meeting before. For the first time, she fully grasped the concept of how powerful and feared he was. The torture she had gone through had not convinced her of his true power, nor had the magic he had done earlier to impress her. But when he sat there, speaking to his people, who were listening in rapt attention, something hit her. He interrupted his speech to pet Nagini, who rested her head on his shoulder and had started making furious noises when Liliana had sat at her master's side.
"My guests, this is my cousin, Liliana," Voldemort said suddenly, eventually taking his eyes off her to look at the people seated opposite from him.
Liliana looked at the vampires, surprised he would choose such a moment to introduce her. He had not taken the trouble to reveal her identity to his own people; on the contrary, he had kept it a secret from them all this time. Why such a move now? Did it have something to do with his offer to join him?
She was surprised to hear one of the vampires — the one who looked to be their leader — speak. "Your future wife, I presume." He was seated right across from Voldemort; his face was cold and ageless, and his voice was a bit shrill.
There was stillness in the room while the audience waited for Voldemort's furious reply, which never came.
"Your presumption is incorrect, Alessandro," the Dark Lord replied evenly, without elaborating, but Liliana could have sworn she had seen his jaw twitch upon hearing the vampire's words.
"That is most peculiar since for hundreds of years most of your family members been in the habit of marrying their cousins."
This time, Liliana was sure Voldemort would snap.
"Hardly your cousin, actually, if she is indeed Cesare and Lilah Slytherin's daughter. There were rumors that she might have escaped from you, that someone had hidden her," a vampire to Alessandro's right said.
Liliana eyed him and was slightly disconcerted by the look of unmasked curiosity he was giving her. He looked fairly young — her own age, maybe — but she knew he could be hundreds of years old. He had a handsome face, chiseled features, and beautiful heavy-lidded eyes that could have been blue, but it was hard to say from the distance.
"That is correct," Voldemort replied in the same even tone. The moment he confirmed, Liliana could swear that the look on the vampire's face changed from curious to purely murderous then to utter coolness in less than two seconds.
"It looks like your parents have managed to always leave an impression somehow," she heard Voldemort say. She turned to look at him, a bit surprised that he had also noticed the change of attitude in the vampire camp. Then she noticed that some people, including the vampires watching them closely with puzzled expressions on their faces, and she realized he had addressed to her in Parseltongue.
Why did I not think of that? she wondered.
"Please stop this meeting immediately," she replied. "Do you have any idea how dangerous these creatures can be?"
Voldemort's expression did not change, and he continued to stare at their guests. She moved closer to him, and Nagini made furious noises in her direction. Liliana noticed Bella gripping her wand tightly and smirked.
"My girls don't like you, cousin," Voldemort said, tilting his head to look at her and petting Nagini again to calm her down.
He looked downright amused. Liliana scowled in Nagini's direction, and the snake hissed again angrily.
The girl stared angrily at Voldemort again. "This is not a game; this is a war," she said, lowering her voice. "What will become of us all, if they get out of control?"
"That is not possible," he said, glancing coldly at her.
"My guests," he said loudly, "Let us get back to the issue we were discussing."
"Yes, I am afraid we do not have much time; we have to get back before dawn," Alessandro said, his voice a bit harsh.
Voldemort ignored his irritation.
"As I was saying before, it is time for you to make a choice. It is not wise to stay neutral when some of your own people have already made a choice to join Dumbledore, and we all know that this is a mistake. Dumbledore has no principles; he works with everyone who wants to join him, from halfbloods to Muggles" — he spat the word — "and even worse, to werewolves."
The last words made the vampires shift uneasily.
"Yes," Voldemort continued. "It should not surprise you that Dumbledore considers that the werewolves live amongst us in civilized society when you know better than I do that such a thing is simply not possible."
Liliana hid her scowl at his words. He was simply too good at turning people against each other. It was a real talent.
There was deafening silence for a few moments while Voldemort and Alessandro studied each other cautiously. Then Alessandro spoke, but his words were not meant to please Voldemort.
"We have known each other for what now, thirty years?" The blond vampire to his right nodded. "We have supported you from day one, because you have sworn to restore our rights and help our admittance in the wizarding world. I personally thought you had the potential to do it. But then you went into hiding, and we have not heard from you in sixteen years. When you disappeared, we had to go into hiding again, chased by the wizards. I believe that before we go further into details about how we are going to help you return to power, we need a token of your commitment to us."
Voldemort eyed Alessandro coldly. The blond vampire leaned towards their leader and whispered something in his ear. Liliana tensed when she noticed his eyes were on her again, glittering maliciously in the dim light. She turned her head to look at Voldemort, but his face was blank, waiting for Alessandro to speak again to clarify his request.
"We would appreciate if your cousin would be our guest until the Ministry falls and you pass the decree that we are officially recognized as equals of wizards and the division ends," Alessandro finally said.
Liliana froze when she heard his words, clearly not expecting such a strange request. But then she glanced again at the blond vampire, and saw him smile contently, and she realized that perhaps he held a grunge against her family. It was the only explanation.
"She presents no importance whatsoever for my plans," she heard Voldemort say. "You should request something more valuable."
"But we want her," Alessandro replied firmly, almost immediately.
Everyone turned to look at Voldemort expectantly, but Liliana did not wait for his answer. She already knew it, and she was sure as hell she would not let herself be drawn into these creatures' lair no matter what.
"I will not be a prisoner to this rotten leaches' lot," she spat. "Better dead."
It was enough for chaos to ignite.
The next thing she knew she was thrown back, landing hard on her back, the chair shattering into pieces when the vampire pinned her to the hard floor. Terrible pain exploded in her, but she could not care less, when she came face to face to him. She had never seen such livid fury in somebody's eyes before: his electric blue pupils turned red suddenly, and she knew she was doomed.
"Better dead. Yes, we agree on that," he said, the grip on her strengthening, his lips pulling back to reveal his fangs, ready to end her life. She heard somebody yell, but she was too mesmerized by her attacker to fight him off. Rumors said the fascination vampires exercised on their victim just before killing them was too strong for the victim to fight back. There was chaos in the room, people yelling, but she could not focus on anything but the red eyes boring into hers. Suddenly a flash of red light blinded her, and the weight of the vampire was lifted off her. She blinked a few times and sat up, noting Voldemort near her, wand in hand. His stance was menacing, and she realized he had been the one who had saved her life. The blond vampire crouched across from him, ready to attack.
"Jurgen, stop!" somebody cried, but Voldemort and the vampire did not look up. Liliana thought it had been Alessandro standing a few meters from them, also in an attack pose.
"You don't stand a chance," Voldemort said evenly to the blond vampire. "I have no wish to kill you, so stop this nonsense."
"She has gravely insulted us. It's her or this deal is off," Jurgen replied.
Liliana stilled. It all came down now to Voldemort's answer, and she knew well what he would have to say. She looked around, noting that all wizards had drawn their wands, and the vampires looked as if they were prepared for a fight.
Then she heard Voldemort's say coolly, "The deal is off."
"I hope you realize what you have just done, Voldemort," Jurgen said menacingly, standing.
The Dark Lord did not lower his wand. As responding to a silent command, the vampires started to change into different animal form and bolted out of the room through the open window, followed by the wizards' fearful stares. Jurgen transformed into a big white wolf, but the malicious blue eyes betrayed his identity. He turned once again to give Voldemort and Liliana murderous looks before jumping outside.
For a few moments, all the wizards stared at each other intently. Then Voldemort put his wand away gesturing to the others to do the same.
"They are gone," he said and sat back at the table meditative. The wizards shifted slowly to get their places around the table.
"You may be excused," the Dark Lord said suddenly. "Wait outside."
Snape moved swiftly to help Liliana up when he heard Voldemort say, "Not you Snape. You will stay. And so will you." He glanced for the first time at Liliana since she had insulted the vampires. "We have some things to clarify."
Everyone exited, giving Snape worried looks. The wizard ignored them and said a spell to alleviate Liliana's pain from her fall to the floor. He helped her up.
Voldemort did not look up while the wizards left the room. He seemed focused on something that had his fists clenching and unclenching under the table. Something was terribly wrong, and Snape knew it, from the moment he had seen the Dark Lord interposing between Liliana and a furious vampire.
And now Voldemort was aware that something was wrong.
The Dark Lord stood up quietly and flicked his wand. The wall between the drawing room and the library disappeared, and he went in to find a book. Snape already knew what it was, and he braced himself for the worst. Voldemort turned the pages slowly, his face blank, but the other wizard knew better. Liliana was watching him curiously, but she did not speak. At length, Voldemort spoke, his voice quiet, but filled with a strange emotion, without looking up.
"So, Severus, I have been told many times you were the one spying on us, Dumbledore's man in the house, but I thought too highly of you to listen to your detractors. And here we are now. I have to declare that I was so wrong."
Snape gripped his wand inside his robes.
"Milord, do not let yourself be influenced by such lies," he said, trying to sound cool. "I have so many enemies and only from being faithful to you."
Voldemort's lips curled up, but it was not a smile.
"You have given me the proof I needed yourself," he said bitterly. "I have no choice but to believe you, Severus." He finally looked at his follower. Snape moved his hand to draw his wand, but it was already too late. Without even moving, Voldemort had him immobilized against the back wall. The Dark Lord slammed the book closed and drew his wand. His move awoke Liliana who had followed the dialogue closely without intervening.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"This concerns you as well, so shut up, you foolish girl," Voldemort replied and approached Snape, who watched him with apprehension. He knew exactly what was coming and braced himself for it.
"All I want to know is why."
Voldemort pointed his wand at the professor and said "Legilimens." Pain shot through Severus, blinding him and he let out a piercing cry when he realized he could not fight Voldemort off. The Dark Lord had never actually used his wand when performing Legilimency on him, and he was completely taken off guard by the force of the spell when it hit him. He realized that Voldemort had not wanted to pay attention to the rumors and had chosen to believe him instead. He had wanted to trust someone, and that had been his undoing. When Snape had presented himself to the Dark Lord only two years ago pretending to have spied all this time on Dumbledore, Voldemort had chosen to believe him instead of doing what he was about to do now.
He was human after all.
But now, it seemed that Snape was running out of luck. He could not contain his thoughts and suddenly Voldemort was there when Severus was merely a teen and he had fallen head over heals with Lily Evans, when he had taken the Dark Mark, when Lily was killed by Voldemort, and Severus had sworn to avenge her and to protect Harry Potter with his life.
"You have betrayed me for a Mudblood whore?" Voldemort suddenly growled incredulously, releasing his grip on Severus' mind.
"Please…" Severus begged, looking at Liliana, another one who he had failed miserably to protect.
Voldemort's spell hit him hard, taking his breath away. He felt himself split inside, if that was possible, and understood that the other wizard had used one of the torture spells that caused internal bleeding. He had witnessed it before, and he knew what it did to the victim.
Another spell made him fly across the room and through the wood and glass doors into the hallway.
He landed with a thud in the middle of the Death Eaters who were eavesdropping. He noticed a few sneering faces as they formed a circle around him and heard Voldemort pace toward him. Severus drew his wand and spat the blood, invading his mouth. He was probably the most powerful wizard among the Death Eaters, and if he could not stand up to the Dark Lord, then none of them could.
He would not go down without a fight.
"Sectumsempra!" he yelled, as Voldemort approached, catching him off guard. There were some gasps around the room. Snape heard something slither nearby and realized Nagini was close by. He looked up and saw Voldemort, his hand clenching at his chest, but the visible wounds were already starting to heal under his touch.
"This will leave scars, you fool," he said, bowing over Snape. "Did you really think such a pathetic try would kill me? I thought you knew better than this. Allow me to give you a taste of your own spell." He flicked his wand wordlessly, and Severus cried in pain, his black robes damping slowly with his blood, feeling his strength leaving him, his mind in a trance…
"I am so disappointed with you, Severus. You cannot imagine how much. And I can honestly say I would have been sorry under other circumstances…" he heard Voldemort say as if from a very, very long distance.