A/N: Holy crap, a new chapter! I'm as surprised as you are! Lexy came to me in a dream and threatened to kick my ass if I didn't finish her story. :-)

Chapter 21 - Giving In

Allexia stared at the ceiling wondering why she had agreed to Snape's plan. Because you love him, that's why. The clock struck midnight, causing her to jump slightly. She was trying to avoid going to sleep, even though she should in order to get the ball rolling on his plan. Snape did show her some blocking techniques earlier, but she had little success with them. In the end, it left both of them frustrated.

The clock chimed again, signaling a half-hour had passed. Allexia felt her eyes growing heavier and at last she could no longer hold out. Sleep pulled her under and she fell into a dream.

It was a familiar scene – sickeningly familiar. The darkened alleyway. The bang of a gun. Her mother's scream. And him – red eyes always watching. Her surroundings shifted and they were standing in front of an opulent marble fireplace. She felt the heat of the flames and looked down, noticing the blood red gown he'd dressed her in.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

If it was anyone else she would say yes. "Not really," she replied.

"I have a present for you, Miss Dumbledore."

Allexia folded her arms. "I told you I don't like the dress."

Voldemort laughed, chilling her to the core. "No, no, something much more meaningful. Let me show you. Turn around."

She turned and looked but saw nothing at first. Then she looked upwards and saw a large man suspended by his feet from the ceiling. He looked familiar.

"Recognize him?" Voldemort hissed in her ear.

Allexia stepped closer and looked harder. Some firelight hit his face and her breath caught. It was the face of the man who'd murdered her mother. Voldemort moved close enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. "If you join me, I will let you have him. After seeing what happened to your poor mother, I know you're just dying to get your hands on him. Would you like me to show you again in case you've forgotten?"

"No!" she cried, as all of her feelings of hate, anger, and vengeance came bubbling to the surface. She remembered the conversation she'd had with Minerva and forced those feelings aside. "I'd put him back in prison, where he belongs." It didn't sound convincing though, even to herself.

Voldemort laughed again. "Would you now? Do you want to know what Jimmy boy here has been doing since he escaped?"

The scene shimmered and there he was robbing a liquor store, where he'd shot the clerk. It shifted again and he was forcing himself upon a poor young girl behind a barn. "Stop it!" Allexia shouted. Breathing heavily, she tried in vain to keep her anger under control.

Voldemort was now circling her like a hawk, waiting to dive in for the kill. "I know you're trying to convince yourself that you would do the right thing and turn him in, but we both know that you wouldn't do that." He made a small gesture with his hand and the man was lowered towards the ground.

He was gagged, but Allexia could see the fear in his eyes. Good, she thought, knowing she should be ashamed of such thoughts. Voldemort moved in front of her, blocking the dangling man from her vision. She was forced to look into his red eyes. "Come now, Miss Dumbledore, let's not waste anymore time. I can't keep him nicely gift-wrapped for long. Bellatrix would love to use him as a plaything."

She thought about Snape's plan and there wasn't anything else she could do but agree. "Very well. But I'm only going for him. I won't become one of your death eaters."

Voldemort smiled, showing sharp teeth. "All I want is for you to come to me of your own free will. Go into the Forbidden Forest tomorrow at midnight and someone will bring you to me." He reached out and brought her hand to his lipless mouth. The action repulsed her. "Until tomorrow."

Allexia woke up with a cold chill. Her heart was thumping a mile a minute. What bothered her most about the dream was knowing how easily she might have given in to Voldemort even without Snape's plan. "I'm sorry, Minerva, but my mother will be avenged."

* * *

Most of Allexia's day was spent tapping her fingers nervously and avoiding the all-knowing gaze of her father. Since he already shot down the plan once, they decided not to bring it up again until she was in the hornet's nest, as she liked to say.

"Stop fidgeting, woman!" Snape whispered to her at dinnertime.

"Sorry, I can't help it. Gods, I need a drink right about now," she snapped back at him.

With an exasperated sigh, Snape inconspicuously tapped her goblet with his wand. Allexia arched her eyebrow at him questioningly. He nodded once and Allexia brought the goblet to her lips. Though slightly disappointed that it was only beer and not the firewhiskey she was hoping for, she downed the whole thing.

"Thanks. Though, I was thinking something stronger."

"You need your head clear tonight," was all he said.

As Allexia watched the students leaving the Great Hall, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Will you join me for tea, Professor Price?"

She could tell from her father's expression that more would be in store for her besides tea. With a last glance at Snape, she got up from the high table and followed the old wizard out. Things between them weren't back to how they were at the beginning of the school year and unfortunately what she was about to embark on tonight wasn't going to help matters.

"Are you feeling okay, my dear?" Albus asked as he handed her a cup of steaming tea. He looked over his half-moon glasses at her in that way that he did when he already knew the answer. She hated it as a child.

Allexia tried not to shake her cup too much, but being alone with her father was making her even more uneasy. It would only take a few more meaningful glances and well-trained questions and she would spill the whole plan to him. She knew for a fact that it would take little effort on his part to keep her in the castle. "Really, Dad, I'm fine. You worry too much, you know." She tried to sound as jovial as possible.

"I'm sorry that things have been strained between us since…" he let the sentence die, not wanting to mention the events of the last few weeks. "I thought that you needed space." He reached out and took Allexia's hand. "Regardless of everything that has come to pass, Allexia, I'm proud of you."

Almost without thinking, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She fought the urge to tell him everything and throw out the plan, but the thought of the twins and of what Voldemort might do if she went back on her word, kept her silent.

Albus embraced her back, knowing something wasn't right with his daughter. He wasn't going to press the matter. "Thank you," he heard her whisper. The clock chimed nine times and Allexia released him.

"I should go, I'm rather tired actually."

Albus scrutinized her one last time. "Very well, off to bed with you."

She lingered at the door. As they stood together at the threshold, she embraced him once more. "Please remember that I love you. No matter what."

Before he could reply, she was gone.

* * * *


Tick.

"How should I act? Should I act like I'm interested in what I see there?" Allexia asked Snape nervously.

Tock.

The potions master didn't even look up from the papers he was marking. "Don't seem overly interested. He thinks he's got a good hold on you already, so just act like you have been in your dreams. The Dark Lord will see right through you if you suddenly start acting like a death eater."

Tick.

Allexia shifted noisily in her chair before getting up and walking around his office. She tried to take her mind off her uneasiness by trying to figure out exactly what Snape kept in all these bottles and flasks. Ugh, is that a brain? She shivered involuntarily.

Tock.

She glanced at the clock. Still another hour to go. "You have the portkey ready, right?" He looked at her in such a way that she knew the answer already. "Of course you do. Sorry, just checking over everything in my head."

"Well, stop," Snape admonished. "It's getting on my nerves. What are you so worried about? You've been in the midst of danger before."

She wrapped her arms around herself suddenly cold. "It's not so much the danger to me that I'm worried about. I'm afraid of getting in over my head. Seeing my mom's killer in that dream-state was enough to push me over the edge. I honestly believe that even if we didn't have this plan, if Voldemort had still offered me that bastard, I would have gone to him willingly. That's what has me on pins and needles. Voldemort knows me too well."

"Just remain focused on gathering information about the ritual and don't get too distracted. I honestly could care less about what you do to your mother's killer. Frankly, if I were you, I would kill him – slowly." Snape stopped marking to glance up at her. She stared at him incredulously. "Just don't get so caught up that you forget what you're really there for."

The remainder of the hour went by rather quickly, neither of them talking much. Before she set out for the Forbidden Forest, she cast a long look at the castle and Snape. "Well, uh, wish me luck," she said rather lamely, not really knowing what to say.

"Just remember your strengths and show him none of your weaknesses. The Dark Lord will exploit them. If a meeting is called, I may see you soon."

Allexia stared into his fathomless eyes and fought off the urge to latch onto him. Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded and set out into the night. She invoked her invisibility, just in case her father was watching the grounds and went willingly into unknown and dangerous territory.

After about twenty minutes, she reached the boundary of Hogwart's wards in the forest and a cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree. In the limited moonlight, Allexia could barely make out the shape of her former friend's face. "Liz," she said tersely.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist him, love," she gloated. Allexia felt her insides twisting with anger, but took a deep breath to calm herself down.

Liz grabbed her arm and they apparated out of the forest.

Seconds later, Allexia found herself in the same dining room as her dreams. There were at least six other Death Eaters there and they all turned to look at her when she arrived. From behind her, she heard a chillingly familiar voice. "Welcome, Miss Dumbledore. I am so glad you've come."

She turned slowly and there he was in the flesh and even more terrifying than in her nightmares. Another figure hunkered behind him, a lump of a man. Snape had told her he was called Wormtail and had betrayed Harry's parents. One of the death eaters approached her, a woman with wild black hair. Grabbing her chin, she forced her head this way and that. "She doesn't look as powerful as I thought she would," she hissed.

On instinct Allexia knocked her hand away and grabbed her by the throat. "Neither do you." Every wand in the room was pointed at her and she marveled at the fact that she wasn't a smoldering pile of ash yet. Allexia let her go.

"Enough!" shouted Voldemort. "Bella, behave yourself."

The death eater looked hurt that she was the one reprimanded, but backed off, shooting Allexia the evil eye. "My apologies, Miss Dumbledore. Would you care for a drink?" He waved his hand and a bottle of wine and several goblets appeared on the table.

"I'm not thirsty," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I want to see him."

"Oh, you will. I have some things to discuss first." He gestured toward a chair and it pulled itself out. "Sit." It was not an invitation, it was a command.

Begrudgingly she sat down, eyeing the surrounding death eaters with trepidation. "Leave us!" said Voldemort, as if he knew what she was feeling. His masked followers exited the room slowly, Bellatrix being the last to leave. Voldemort poured her a glass of wine and offered it to her. Allexia took it and put it to her lips. She needed something to calm her nerves.

"What did you want to discuss?" she asked.

"Does your father know of your connection to Nikolas Treskov? Does he know all the dirty deeds you've done for him?"

"How do you know about Nikolas?" Allexia demanded.

Voldemort sipped his own glass of wine. "I have my sources, including Nikolas himself. Do you know he is a squib? His family is loyal to my cause, of course."

Allexia felt like such a fool. She had no idea that Nikolas was a squib. "What did he tell you?"

"All that you had done for him: kidnapping, extortion, arson, theft, and my personal favorite, torture. He said that you seemed to be especially good at torturing people for information. What does your father say to all that?"

She broke away from his gaze and looked at the wall. "He doesn't know," she answered with a sigh.

"And what do you think he will say? That he's proud of you? That he understands your violent tendencies? No!" He slammed his hand on the table to emphasize. "I, on the other hand, commend you for your talents. At my side, you will be free to do what you do best. Don't you miss the feeling of tracking down your prey? The satisfaction of making a man spill his most precious secrets? It gives you power and it intoxicates you, doesn't it?"

Allexia felt as if her mind was in a fog. She was so confused that she dropped her wine and the glass shattered on the floor. The sound jolted her awake. She shook her head. "No, no, you're wrong," she whispered.

"We shall see," he said. "Come, I will take you to see our special guest."

* * *

The room was dark aside from the few candles lining the wall, but she could see his eyes. Allexia knew those eyes well. She knew how they glinted with pleasure as he committed crime after crime. His eyes had seen the life leave her mother. His eyes held fear now and Allexia fought to control the rage boiling beneath her chest. She was aware of Voldemort's eyes on her, but she only stared at the man tied to the chair. Somehow her hand had pulled her wand out of her sleeve and she pointed it, shaking, at him.

"That's it, my dear," hissed Voldemort in her ear, "Let the rage take over. Let it flow through your wand. You've felt the effects of the Cruciatus firsthand. Imagine what your hate and anger could do to him through that curse."

Allexia was fighting an internal battle. For a brief moment, she imagined those little angel and devil figures on her shoulders, each telling her what she should do. She remembered what her father had said regarding her need for revenge, 'After you have delivered upon him your final judgment, will your situation be improved at all?'

"Your mother would still be here if not for this man," Voldemort continued to goad. "You know he enjoyed killing her. You know she wasn't the only one."

"I am not like you," Allexia said through gritted teeth. She tried to hold on to both her father and Minerva's words from the day, but she could feel her resolve slipping.

"Do it, Allexia, or I will remind you how the curse feels. I would rather see him in agony than you. Exact justice tonight!"

Allexia watched as the sweat poured off of his face and he looked up at her. She tried to imagine her father and what he would think of her right at this moment. She knew what he would want her to do. Her breathing became labored. I can't do this. Yes you can. He's a murderer. Don't be like him. There were too many voices in her head. Her wand lowered a bit and she looked at the floor. She could feel Voldemort's breath by her ear.

"Please, don't do this," the man whispered.

Her head snapped back up to stare him in the face. The memory of him holding her mother at gunpoint flashed across her mind's eye. 'Please, don't do this.' Her mother had said that very thing to him and then he shot her point-blank.

"Crucio!"