A/N - Whoohoo! Finally, an update that didn't take three months! I think I should be applauded for this...and longest chapter yet, to boot. Go me, go me...
Right. So, this chapter basically wrote itself - but, I like it. Hope you do to. Lotsa stuff happening, plot lines ending, characters making their adieus...
This chapter's dedicated to Moony'sgirlthroughandthrough - very belated happy 16th birthday! I'm sorry I'm such a slow writer, and I sincerely hope it was worth the wait.
Anyways - here it is, chapter 21. Enjoy!
The Track of a Storm
By Lady Taliesin
James Potter died on October 31, 1981. But when, nearly six years later, Lord Voldemort invokes an ancient magic to restore himself to a body, James is drawn back into a world where everything he knows is gone, and everyone he cares about believes him dead…
Disclaimer – Y'all know the drill…it's all Jo Rowling's, not mine. Sue and you'll get nothing, nada, zippo, zilch…in other words, don't bother trying.
The Track of a Storm
Chapter 21 – Escape, pt. II
August 10, 1987
It was almost eerie, how completely silent the great hall had become. There was barely the rustle of wind, and it had been an hour or longer since footsteps had rung on the polished stone floor. Almost the only sound in the room, in fact, was the gentle clinking of a glass goblet as it was raised and lowered on to the room's massive wooden table.
Considering the utter tumult the hall had been in barely fourteen hours earlier, it was especially strange that there was now only one man left in the hall, meditatively sipping a vintage wineand every now and then glancing at his pocket watch.
Lucius Malfoy had an appointment to keep, and despite certain unforeseen circumstances and the very real danger of incurring the Dark Lord's wrath he'd be damned if he wasn't going to keep it.
Severus Snape, on the other hand, seemed to have different ideas. He was already nearly twenty minutes late.
Lucius was just raising his goblet to his lips for what felt like the hundredth time when Severus threw open the doors, stormed across the hall, slammed his hands down in front of Lucius and snarled, "What in Merlin's name do you want now!"
Lucius carefully lowered his glass, wiped his hands on a neatly folded napkin, and gestured for Severus to take a seat. "Mm. You're late. Would you care for some wine? It's an excellent vintage, practically sublime…"
"Have you lost your mind? The Dark Lord is furious, there is still no sign of Potter and his gang, Jugson was discovered unconscious in the dungeons twenty minutes ago, and you have the nerve to expect me to –"
"– To have the courtesy to keep your appointments, yes." interrupted Lucius, more sharply than he had intended. Quickly rectifying this with a congenial smile, he poured Severus a glass of wine and gestured once more towards the seat across from him. "Sit. We need to talk."
Severus' anger was quickly fading into petty rancor – a look of defeat passed briefly over his face, and he yanked out the proffered seat and slumped into it with a growl. "We don't have anything to talk about. And I don't want a drink."
"Wine breeds confidence, my friend. And what I am shortly going to tell you is told strictly in confidence – hence the wine. Here, take this…ah. Excellent. And now we can finally begin…"
"Are you planning on telling me what this is all about?" growled Severus, toying listlessly with the goblet Lucius had handed to him. Lucius smiled and raised his goblet slightly.
"Mm. Yes. Now listen very closely, and try not to interrupt…"
ooooo
Sirius broke off suddenly, his body freezing as he stared at Remus in shock. Remus' eyes had snapped open – they were bloodshot and wild, and as Sirius stared Remus' hand shot up and grabbed Sirius' wrist so tightly Sirius gasped involuntarily.
"You…"
ooooo
Completely at a loss for what to say, Sirius just stared. For several long moments neither of them moved – and then finally Sirius cleared his throat, attempted to smile good-humoredly, and failed entirely. "Er…right. Hullo, Moony. Lovely to see you up and…well, up. And more or less about. James, take Harry and go."
James, who had been watching this exchange with rapt astonishment, started. "What?"
"I said take Harry and go." snapped Sirius, jerking his arm free from Remus' grip and rubbing his wrist. "One floor down and two doors to the right. And if you can't pick the lock then hide in an alcove, or something but just go. I'll knock him out again and meet you in a sec."
"Sirius…"
"Go."
James hesitated, and then nodded and stood up. "C'mon, Harry."
Sirius didn't turn around, but stood directly in front of Remus and continued to rub his wrist until he heard the sound of the door slamming shut. And then he exhaled and grinned affably at Remus, gently slapping his hand away when Remus lurched forward again. "Well, they're gone. I think we're all good now, yeah?"
Remus growled, staggering to his feet and staring at Sirius with maddened eyes. Sirius stuck his tongue out at him.
"Ngh. You silly daft bugger. Thanks to our dear friend Snivellus I am temporarily…well, not quite immortal, but you know. Rather resilient, and all that. Feel free to do your worst. Whatever Abaddon's done to you this time can't be worse than what he did to you last time, so…" Sirius broke off, comprehension suddenly dawning on his face. "Oh. Shit. He's done it again, hasn't he? Damn it. Damn it. Look, Moony…we've always been best of friends, right? Right. And you wouldn't ever dream of hurting dear old Padfoot, would you? No!" Sirius was slowly backing away, the once affable grin on his face quickly fading into one of desperation. "Although that's the wrong thing to say, isn't it…the more you like me the harder you'll try to kill– oof."
Sirius had backed into one of the large, high-backed chairs littering the room. "Ouch. Damn. Okay. So this curse-thingy he's done makes you attack people you like. Fine. I can deal with that. You hate me anyways. This shouldn't be a problem." Suddenly aware that he was babbling, Sirius snapped his mouth shut and attempted to grin roguishly. The effect was rather marred by the fact that he was turning green around the edges. "So. Just so long as you remember where you stand we're all good."
Remus had dropped to a crouch, his eyes flashing and his skin clammy with sweat. "You're – Padfoot." he whispered thickly, each word blurred with pain. "You – didn't…kill…"
Sirius panicked.
"NO! No – this is not the time to be seeing sense, Moony. Remus. Whatever. I killed everyone! Let's pretend that. You hate me. With good reason, I might add. There's so much to hate around me. About me. There's so much to hate about me. Just don't…don't…ah. Right. That's a candlestick. Put it down now, there's a chap…"
With an extreme effort Remus had pulled himself to his feet, grabbing an ornate bronze candlestick off of one of the tables and hefting it like a sword. There was still a part of himself left, Sirius could see that much, but the curse was quickly taking over his body, spreading like a virus, and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.
"Kill – me." hissed Remus, sweat plastering his light brown hair to his head and his eyes red with burst blood vessels. "Before…before…" He gasped, staggering backwards and falling heavily to the ground; Sirius swore loudly, scrambling back and using the chair as a shield – Remus, the real Remus, was gone.
"Shit, shitshitshitshit…God damn it Moony, you bloody, you bloody…you bloody stupid werewolf!"
Remus, or rather the curse that had taken over Remus' body, stood up, brushed himself off, and laughed. It was a pleasant, convivial laugh, and was ten times more frightening than any sinister cackle could ever be. "Come out, Padfoot…"
Desperate, Sirius grabbed the nearest thing he could reach, which happened to be an undoubtedly priceless but indisputably hideous silver-backed hand mirror. "No!"
He could hear Remus sigh. "Hmm. Please?"
"No!"
Remus laughed again, still pleasant, still terrifying. "You know how this works, don't you?"
Sirius frowned confusedly, his thoughts momentarily sidetracked. "How what works?"
He could all but see Remus roll his eyes. "This, you idiot. The curse."
"Oh. Ah. Yep, think so." There was a very pregnant pause as Remus waited for him to elaborate. "Oh, sorry. The curse – that's you, right? – takes over Moony's body and sets out to kill anyone he likes. Yeah. And you make the real Moony watch. That's what Remus said at any rate, and he'd know. So. Obviously you're defective, because if you had bothered to 'read his mind' you'd have seen he hates me. So. Care to go away?"
"Mm. No. I wouldn't. And you've forgotten one very important detail. And that is…"
"Eh. You're a right old bastard? Did I mention that?"
Sirius was sitting with his back against the chair, his knees drawn up to his chest and the mirror cradled in his hands.
He could hear footsteps approaching, and then suddenly stopping. He closed his eyes, steeling himself – and then hot breath brushed past his ear, and his eyes snapped open again, still staring deliberately forward.
"No." whispered Remus, leaning on the arm of the chair and gazing down at Sirius with an amused smile on his face. Unable to stop himself, Sirius glanced backwards – Remus' eyes were narrowed in amusement, and they were still blood-red. "What you forgot was the point I was actually expecting you to get at in the first place. Well, two points, now I think of it."
Sirius swallowed, and tried to look the part of the suave, cool-headed, refined hero. "Yeah?" he sneered, managing, with an enormous effort, to keep his voice from trembling. "And what are those?"
"Well," said Remus, somehow managing to look much more refined and suave than Sirius even though he was coated in blood and had nothing on but a tattered pair of trousers and a ratty overcoat, "Firstly, you're wrong."
Sirius spluttered indignantly. "How can you have been waiting for me to get at that? That, that…that doesn't even make sense!"
Remus ignored him. "The curse doesn't replace me with an alternate personality. It's still me, Padfoot. It's me you're cowering from behind that chair right now, and it's me that, any second now, is going to blast you into little tiny, sticky bits. I just thought you might want to know that before you die."
"Oh yes, very consoling." mumbled Sirius under his breath, hefting the mirror in one hand and with his other hand digging as subtly as he could manage through his pockets. Remus patted him on the shoulder.
"Incidentally, the point you were supposed to be 'getting at' is that one of the nicer side effects of the curse is that it makes me nigh on indestructible. Another consoling thought. Now when you die you won't have to feel you did a banged-up job of defending yourself."
Sirius really couldn't restrain himself at that. He turned around. "You don't even sound remotely like Moony." he said incredulously. Remus shrugged and smiled apologetically.
"Must be 'right old bastards' like you rubbing off on me."
Sirius actually laughed at that.
"Ha. Well. Let's see how you measure up, then." And Sirius stood up, rolling up the sleeves of his robes and holding the mirror out in front of him like a sword. "Do your worst."
ooooo
Severus grabbed the bottle of wine, not bothering to pour it into his goblet and instead taking a swig straight from the bottle. "So. That's where you stand, is it?"
Lucius nodded, taking the bottle from Severus' hands and conscientiously wiping the top with his napkin. "Yes."
Severus contemplated his empty wine glass for a moment. "Ah."
Lucius waited politely, but Severus didn't say anything else. "Yes. That is where I stand. I thought you might be interested to know that, since I strongly suspect that that's where you stand as well."
Severus looked up sharply, suddenly suspicious. "What –"
Lucius waved his hand dismissively. "No, don't say anything. Don't tell me anything. It's quite alright. More wine?"
Severus nodded, and mutely accepted the bottle from Lucius. He took another swig, wiped his mouth, and sighed. "So you're working against Voldemort now. Excellent. Now what do you expect me to do about it?"
Lucius shrugged. "Keep it to yourself – that goes without saying. I'm giving you partial access to most of my assets – obviously no one will know about this but us – and you can feel free to use them as you see fit." He raised a hand to before Severus could say anything. "I trust you. And if anyone does find out who shouldn't, I'm bribing you to perform my evil will upon the innocent, naïve students of Hogwarts."
Severus smiled reluctantly. "Fine. Is that it?"
Lucius hesitated, and then nodded. "Yes. Unless…never mind. Yes. That's it."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "'Unless?'" he prodded, taking another sip of wine and leaning forward slightly. Lucius smiled humorlessly, resting his elbows on the table and accepting the wine bottle from Severus with a sigh.
"Unless…unless Voldemort suspects something. If I die – if he kills me – then I've made you the legal heir to all of my estate. And also Draco's legal guardian, if anything happens to Narcissa."
Severus choked. "You can't be –"
"I am. I'm perfectly serious." said Lucius, his voice low but his eyes sharp and focused almost desperately on Severus. "He suspects something, I'm sure of it. And even if he doesn't he will sooner or later. I've never been a terribly good liar, as you know, and…that's all there is to it, really. You needn't worry about the dark lord suspecting you're involved in any of this – I've had everything tangled in a mess of technicalities and precedents and history. You're quite innocent in the whole affair." He leaned forward, his gaze intent and almost frightening. "If it does come to the worst, Severus, you have to do this for me."
Severus shook his head in disbelief. "We aren't even that good of friends…" he muttered, dropping his gaze to the floor and clenching his hands on the edge of the table. Lucius smiled, and exhaled slowly.
"Thank you, Severus."
ooooo
Sirius dropped to a crouch, swiveling around and ducking behind a chair as a curse shot past him, blasting into a mirror on the wall and smashing it into a thousand sharp fragments. "You missed!" he shouted, taking advantage of the momentary lull to dig frantically through his pockets. "Not even a scratch!"
"That can be remedied." said Remus, his voice still infuriatingly cool and amused. Sirius could hear him saunter towards him, and he swore under his breath. "There's no point hiding, Padfoot…I can vanish that chair if I want to…just like that…"
He snapped his fingers and laughed, and the chair disappeared. Sirius, caught unawares, toppled over backwards and looked up just in time to see a jet of crimson light shoot past where his head had been seconds before.
"Ditto on what I said earlier…" muttered Sirius under his breath, rolling to the right and leaping to his feet. "And look! I've found the wand! And you couldn't even manage to hit me when I was unarmed; just you look out now I've –"
Sirius broke off as Remus perched himself on the edge of a small side table and contemplated Sirius thoughtfully. "You might recall," he said pensively, biting his lower lip meditatively as he gazed at Sirius, "That it is going to be very, very difficult for you to kill me. And even harder if – as I rather suspect – you have absolutely no intention whatsoever of killing me, and merely want to knock me out."
Sirius snorted. "Yeah? Well how 'bout this – you let me go out and find James and Harry, and then maybe when the curse has worn off I'll come and get you. Sounds good, yeah?"
Remus shook his head and smiled. "That hardly sounds fair, does it? I'd much rather kill you here and now."
"Hmph. Well. I probably wouldn't walk out on you, anyways." Sirius hefted his wand again and pointed it straight at Remus' heart. "You hear that? I'm not planning on leaving you." Remus tilted his head and gazed at him quizzically.
"You really are very stupid." he said at last, shaking his head and ambling forwards. "I hate you. Nothing in the world would give me greater pleasure than killing you." He paused. "Well, almost nothing. I'd very much like to kill little Harry, as well…"
Sirius cracked. "Like hell you will," he growled, lunging forwards and tackling Remus to the ground. He cried out as a curse shot past his side, scorching through his robes and burning his arm, but he didn't loosen his grip. "You so much as touch my godson and I'll –" He broke off, gasping, as Remus elbowed him sharply in the chest. He tried to keep his hold on Remus but couldn't – Remus rolled out from under him and pushed himself to his knees, picking Sirius up and throwing him across the room with a frown and a wave of his hand. Sirius slammed into the far wall, sliding to the floor and landing on the ground in a crumpled heap.
"That's enough from you, Sirius." admonished Remus gently, getting to his feet and strolling over to Sirius' side. Sirius groaned something unintelligible, and Remus clucked his tongue reprovingly. "I'm perfectly serious." He bent down and grabbed Sirius hand, yanking him unceremoniously to his feet. "You're well and beaten. And to be perfectly honest I think this has really dragged on long enough – if you don't mind, I think it's time we ended it." Remus bent down again, this time to pick up Sirius' wand. He straightened and handed it to Sirius with a smile and a slight nod, then turned around smartly on his heel and took five long strides away from Sirius.
Sirius spat out a mouthful of blood and straightened with a growl. "Sounds good by me."
Remus laughed, spinning around again to face Sirius. "Well, then – shall we finish it?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think maybe we should."
Something flickered in Remus' eyes then, but it was quickly lost in another laugh and another easy smile. "On the count of three. One…two–"
"Stupefy!" shouted Sirius, a jet of scarlet light bursting from his wand and hurtling straight at Remus' heart. Remus stepped casually to the side, missing the spell by inches – Sirius threw himself to the side as an answering burst of emerald light shot towards him, blasting over his head and lighting a large painting on the far wall on fire. "Incendio! Elecebra! Stupefy!"
Sirius was rolling to the side, shooting spells at random over his head. He could hear Remus laughing again, but it was distant and detached now, and Sirius didn't particularly care anymore. "Why the hell won't you – stupefy!"
Remus ducked the curse easily, throwing chairs and tables out of his way as he walked casually towards Sirius. "Three." he said softly, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he drew to a halt and glanced at Sirius pityingly. "G'bye, Sirius."
There was silence, a moment's silence which was so heavy that Sirius hardly dared breathe – and then, with a wave of Remus' hand and an amiable smile, everything went black.
ooooo
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
James started, breaking his gaze away from the stone wall opposite him and turning to look down at Harry. "What?"
Harry was staring fixedly at his feet, brushing unthinkingly at a small cut on his hand as he shrugged and smiled timidly. "Why…why didn't you tell me you were my dad, before? You could've but you didn't. I would've believed you, you know…"
James smiled, matching Harry' smile with a rueful one of his own. "I was afraid you wouldn't. Believe me, I mean."
"I would've." repeated Harry softly, edging slightly towards James as James sank to the floor next to him. James sighed and wrapped his arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him closer and tousling Harry's hair gently.
"I know. It was stupid."
There was silence for a few moments. And then Harry, his eyes beginning to drift shut as he lay pressed up against James' side, stiffened. Someone was approaching them, his quick, nervous footsteps echoing and reechoing in the high-ceilinged corridor.
"Get behind me!" hissed James, shoving Harry further into the shadowed darkness of the doorway. The footsteps were drawing closer and closer, and with them now came a low, panicked voice – whomever it was that was approaching was mumbling restlessly to himself, and as he drew closer the words grew more defined.
"– wasn't my fault, none of it was; I had no choice, I had to, he made me…he'll understand…but Sirius…Sirius won't…"
James cried out softly, taking three quick steps forward before he could stop himself and staring in shock at the small, mousy-looking man standing in the middle of the corridor and staring at him in absolute terror. "…Peter?"
James' voice was barely louder than a whisper, but Peter Pettigrew flinched as though he'd been struck. James took another step forward, shock quickly giving way to rage. "You…you…" His voice was trembling with a mixture of fury and disbelief – Peter gasped and stumbled backwards, drawing his wand and pointing it at James with shaking hands.
"Stop! I mean it!" His voice was high-pitched and obviously terrified, but as James drew closer his eyes grew sharper and his hands stopped trembling. "Take another step forward and I'll…I'll…"
"Kill me?" suggested James, spitting out the words viciously and watching with a sort of bitter satisfaction as Peter flinched again.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" stammered Peter, taking another stumbling step back and nearly falling. "It wasn't…I didn't know – I mean, I did know but I couldn't do anything, I had no choice…You don't understand…"
"What don't I understand!" spat James, his hazel eyes blazing now as Peter fell to the ground, dry, gasping sobs rising in his throat. "I trusted you! I trusted–"
"I'm sorry!" choked Peter, recoiling violently as James drew to a stop in front of him. "You're right. It's my fault, everything's my fault, and I'm sorry…"
James snorted, reaching down and snatching Peter's wand out of his hand. "You have the nerve to–"
"I'm here to help you!" Peter scrambled backwards, stumbling to his feet and staring almost pleadingly at James through wide, frightened eyes. "I'm sorry, so sorry about everything and I need to – you need to listen to me."
James shook his head, leveling the wand at Peter's head and narrowing his eyes. "Give me one reason why I should."
"I told you, I'm –"
The end of Peter's wand sparked menacingly, and Peter broke off and swallowed nervously. "Try again." said James softly, his eyes glinting ferociously in the half-lit corridor.
Peter shook his head but looked too terrified to speak. "I'm sorry." he whispered at last, wiping roughly at a few tears that were trickling down his grubby cheeks. "I really am. It's my fault that you died, and that Lily died, and that everything happened, but, but you have to listen, because…because if you don't get out of here now they'll catch you, and…" He trailed off as James laughed bitterly.
"We have a way out, Peter. We're leaving, any minute now. Without you or your 'help.'" James spat out the last as though it were something particularly distasteful. Peter just shook his head again, and James' look of fury slowly began to fade into a look of weary incomprehension. "Why, Peter? I just don't…why?"
Peter swallowed and sank to the ground, turning his head away from James and plucking half-heartedly at the sleeve of his robes. "I don't know." he whispered at last, turning slightly to look at James through watery blue eyes. "I don't know anymore." He laughed almost bitterly, and James could feel a new feeling grab hold of him.
"I'm never going to forgive you." he said softly, fixing Peter with a steely glare that was almost apologetic in its intensity. "Never."
Peter nodded. "I didn't ask you to." he whispered, a hint of a smile creeping across his face. He dispelled it with another shake of his head, and when he spoke again his voice was forcedly rough. "I just…I had to say sorry, and I didn't know if you knew about the horses or whatnot so I –"
"What?" interrupted James, falling to his knees and yanking Peter around to stare him in the eye. Peter stared at him confusedly.
"I said, I wanted to say –"
"You said something about horses." James shook Peter urgently when he didn't answer immediately. "What about horses? They're not man-eating, or –"
Peter laughed weakly and rubbed his eyes. "No…there's a herd of flying horses in the forest. Right at the end of this passage." Peter waved his hand vaguely at the doorway where James had stood a few minutes before. "I heard Lucius and Severus talking about them, months ago…" He looked up confusedly as James began to laugh. "What?"
"A herd of flying horses…" murmured James to himself, grinning despite himself as he jumped to his feet. "A whole…and they won't attack us?"
Peter shook his head. "Nah…I mean, maybe. If you don't have the key." Peter traced a shape vaguely in the air with his right hand – James noticed, distantly, that one of his fingers was missing. "Looks like a small horse. Very tiny. S'the master key to everything, which means Lucius should have it, only he gave it to Severus, and he sort of implied that he should give it to somebody else, so…" Peter broke off, acutely aware that James was now staring at him in complete bewilderment. "I made friends with the house elf." he muttered, reddening as he stared down at his feet. "And they don't know. About the animagus thing, and all. I never told them 'bout that."
James just shook his head. "This doesn't change a thing, you know that?"
"I know."
There was silence for a moment as they stared at each other. Finally James cleared his throat, pushing himself to his feet and looking purposefully away from Peter. "Right. Sirius'll be here any second, so…so you should leave now. Get back to Voldemort before he realizes you've gone."
Peter stood up as well, watching with a hesitant smile as James pocketed his wand. "No. I mean, I'll leave, but I'm not going back to him." James raised an eyebrow, and Peter shrugged abashedly. "He won't miss me. And he doesn't know, like I said, so…so it'll all work out. And you'll never have to hear from me again."
James nodded, wincing slightly as he shoved Peter gently away from him. "Fine. But if you ever come near any of us ever again, I'll kill you."
Peter smiled tightly and nodded. "G'bye."
There was a small pop – James looked down automatically, but Peter had already vanished into the darkness.
James exhaled slowly and straightened. "Well, that's done." he said aloud, to no one in particular. He turned back to the alcove, smiling reassuringly as Harry, wide-eyed and obviously frightened, stepped out of the shadows and stared anxiously up at him.
"Who was that?" He could see more than hear Harry whisper the words.
"An…old friend." said James softly, gently herding Harry back into the shadowed doorway and stifling a groan as he sank to the ground. He could feel Harry curl up against his side, and he pulled him closer to himself with a sigh. "Just do me a favor, alright? Don't mention any of this to Sirius." He could feel Harry nod, and he smiled.
"Harry," said James after a moment, turning slightly to gaze down at Harry, "Any chance you've ever ridden on a horse before?"
Harry shook his head. "No. Dudley's afraid of horses." He looked up at James curiously, not noticing as James' eyes darkened at the mention of his cousin's name. "Why?"
James hesitated, and then shrugged. "…I'll tell you as soon as Remus and Sirius catch up." Harry nodded mutely, leaned against James' arm, and closed his eyes with a sigh.
"Remus'll be okay, won't he?" asked Harry after a moment, his voice barely audible even against the almost complete silence of the corridor.
"Course he will." whispered James, his voice only barely louder than Harry's as he closed his eyes and rested his head against Harry's jet black hair. It tickled his cheek gently, and he couldn't help but smile. "Sirius will sort him out, just you wait."
"Then why did he want us to leave?"
James considered this for a moment. "Well…we'd probably just be in the way, you see. He'll get Remus over whatever it is has got him down quicker if we're not there."
James could tell that Harry didn't entirely buy this, and after a moment Harry murmured, "But maybe we could've helped him."
"Nah. Padfoot – Sirius, sorry – doesn't need our help. Not for that, anyway…he and Moony get along pretty well. Most of the time. He'll sort it out, I promise."
"But what if he doesn't?"
James laughed, pulling Harry closer to him in a one-armed hug. "I love you. Have I mentioned that yet?"
He could feel Harry's smile as Harry burrowed into his side. "Yeah," Harry mumbled, blushing into the fabric of James' shirt. James' grin grew broader and messier in response.
"I love you."
Whatever it was that Harry said next James didn't hear – someone was staggering down the corridor, footsteps ringing erratically on the polished stone floor. "Ten sickles says this is them," whispered James, squeezing Harry's shoulder gently before pulling himself to his feet. "Don't move, alright?"
Drawing Peter's wand out of his pocket with his good hand, James stepped warily out of the shadow of the doorway and into the middle of the corridor. "Right. Whoever you are, stop now or I'll…or I'll be forced to do something very nasty to you!"
The footsteps stopped abruptly, and James could hear someone snort. "S'only one person I know that can come up with threats of that caliber…" James' face broke into a broad grin – he lowered his wand, tucking it back into his pocket as an exhausted and battered Sirius limped into view. Every inch of him looked battered and bruised – as he approached James he smiled wearily, but his eyes were dull with a mixture of pain and tiredness and blood was still trickling down his face from a cut over his eye. He was half-carrying, half-dragging Remus, who, aside from being unconscious, looked in much better shape than Sirius.
"How are you?" asked James concernedly, taking three quick steps forwards and relieving Sirius of Remus. "How'd you –"
"– Feel?" finished Sirius, grimacing as he flexed his fingers and drew his wand from his pocket, "Like shit, thanks. You?"
"I'm fine. Listen – I know what the key is."
Sirius glanced up at him sharply, the dullness in his eyes fading as he stared at James. "What?"
"The key. The one Draco was talking about. Remus does have it, probably in that huge old coat of his; it's shaped like a small horse, and we need to find it because it'll get us out of this place…"
"How'd you –"
"I'll tell you later. We just need to get out of here, now…I'm sorry, Sirius; I can't carry him by myself…"
Sirius pulled his wand out of his pocket, flicking it tiredly at Remus and grunting, "Mobilicorpus." James let go of Remus, watching with a hint of concern as Remus floated into the air, drifting gently upwards until he was suspended like a puppet three feet above the ground. "Right. We should probably go now, yeah?"
"Yeah. Listen, Sirius –"
"Later." said Sirius, his voice almost harsh as he brushed past James and flicked his wand at Remus, sending him floating gently forwards. "Where's – Harry!" Sirius dropped to his knees, grabbing Harry in a one-armed hug as Harry hurtled out of the shadows and into Sirius' arms.
"Sirius! You're okay! I was afraid you wouldn't be, Remus looked so angry, he looked like he was going to kill you…" Harry broke off, taking a step back from Sirius and staring at him in fright. "Where is he? Is he okay? Is he –"
"He's fine." interjected Sirius, pushing himself to his feet with a groan and pressing Harry up against his side. "He's excellent. Never better. Speaking of which, how're you? All good and in one piece?"
"Yes."
"Good. Brilliant. Can you do me a favor, Harry? Just hold this, just there…excellent." Sirius had handed Harry his wand – Harry held it with a look of awe on his face, and Sirius, smiling slightly, took a few steps forward until he was at Remus' side. "In his pocket, Prongs?"
"Probably. Look's like a horse." James leaned against the wall, hissing slightly as his back chafed against the stone and closing his eyes. "And they'll be looking for us soon if they aren't already, so..."
"Yeah, yeah." muttered Sirius, digging frantically through Remus' pockets and pretending to ignore the way Remus' limp body jerked back-and-forth. "Merlin, how many pockets does he need…hold it a bit stiller, would you Harry? Thanks…"
The seconds stretched into minutes – the only sound in the corridor was made by Sirius, riffling almost feverishly through Remus' overcoat. Harry was still standing stock-still, holding Sirius' wand almost religiously and fixing his eyes intently on it to be absolutely certain it wouldn't move. James had slid to the floor, his back still pressed up against the stone wall and his breathing growing slower and deeper.
"He doesn't have it." burst Sirius at last, after what felt like hours later. He threw up his hands in defeat and slumped to the floor, his entire body stiffening as he buried his head in his arms. "All he's got in that bloody coat of his are some sickles and stale chocolate. I've searched the whole bleeding thing and –"
"He has it." interrupted James, tilting his head slightly towards Sirius and cracking his eyes open. "Just…trust me. We'll just have to send him in ahead of us; the door will unlock itself for him."
Sirius raised his head and focused on James – his gray eyes were tired and exhausted, but his mouth was set into a thin, hard line and his body was tensed in anticipation. "Trust you?"
James nodded slowly, a smile tugging at his lips as he stared intently at Sirius. "Yeah."
Sirius began to smile slowly. "Well. Why not." He pushed himself to his feet, accepting his wand back from Harry with a flash of a smile and turning his head slightly to grin roguishly at James. "After you?"
ooooo
He woke up screaming, a thousand different memories assaulting his mind all at once and his head feeling as though it were about to split in two. He was in complete and unforgiving darkness, the only noise in the otherwise utter silence the sound of his own screaming.
He was kneeling in front of Lupin, watching through breathless eyes as the werewolf's body shuddered and amber-colored eyes stared up at him, dilated in fear…There was a flash of color, red or white, he couldn't tell which, and another scream of pain, this one even more desperate than the last…
"Stop it; stop it stop it stop it…"
"You will ensure that our guests are incapable of any more…unexpected surprises"…He was laughing, laughing as he watched them scream, laughing at the blood, laughing even as he realized that there wasn't anything funny about it at all…
He screamed again, louder this time, his hands scrabbling desperately against the unforgiving stone floor. "Stop it, stop it…"
He pulled off his cloak with a flourish, vanishing the bloodstains on it with a smile and a wave of his hand…
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry my darlings, I'm so sorry but just make it stop, please stop…"
James was sobbing, calling for Harry, for Lily, for Sirius and Remus and Peter but never so much as a whisper for pity…Remus was staring at him, his eyes glaring defiantly at him even though he was too weak even to stand…
"STOP IT!"
He lay panting in the darkness, his arms wrapped around his head and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. He could still feel the memories, the half-thought out feelings and the pain surrounding him, at bay for the moment but ready to surge back at any second, and he whimpered softly. "Leave me alone…" he whispered, a single tear trailing slowly down his cheek as he cracked his eyes open and stared into the darkness.
You failed.
The thought came unbidden into his mind, and he cried out softly as though he'd been struck. "I-I–"
You failed.
"I d-didn't…"
You failed!
Abaddon Jugson screamed, clapping his hands to his ears and squeezing his eyes shut again. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" He was sobbing now, curled helplessly on the floor as the darkness closed in around him, smothering and suffocating him.
You failed, and he's going to kill you…
"N-no…" Abaddon shuddered again, bile rising in his throat as he pushed himself to his feet and staggered forwards. He was bent nearly in double, his arms wrapped tightly around his stomach and his eyes still squeezed tightly shut. He was choking on the darkness, his throat burning as he gasped for breath. "I didn't, he w-won't…"
He will.
Abaddon stopped suddenly, holding his breath as he reached out and brushed the stone wall with trembling fingers. He cried out, staggering forward and pressing his body against the stone – he slid to the floor, his sobbing quieting and finally stopping as he lay pressed against the wall. "He won't." he whispered again, his mind racing feverishly as he slowly unwrapped his arms from around himself and began to grope in the darkness. "He won't…"
Finally he found what he was looking for. His fingers tightening around the narrow shaft of wood, he pulled away from the wall, breathed in deeply, and staggered to his feet. His hands were trembling violently, but when he spoke again his voice was soft but steady. He raised his wand, and pointed it at his head. "Avada Kedavra."
There was a burst of emerald green light, blinding in its intensity, and then a soft thump as Abaddon's body hit the floor. And then only silence and darkness once more.
ooooo
It was almost three in the afternoon – the sun was blazing in the western quarter of the sky, glinting off of the gently rippling pool in the middle of the forest and throwing the rest of the small clearing into a mess of dappled shadow and cheery golden light.
The forest was alive with sound – birds singing, wind rustling the leaves and water chattering over stone. And then another sound, this out of place in the middle of the uninhabited forest – someone laughing.
"That's hardly fair, Sirius…"
The laughing continued, growing now, until finally from behind a massive boulder three men and a boy stepped forth.
Sirius Black, his grey eyes still glinting wickedly and his mouth curled in a smile, clambered into the clearing and flicked his wand at Remus, sending him hurtling into a pile of bracken at the far end of the clearing. Sirius winced. "Sorry, mate…"
Harry was next, and then finally James. James looked exhausted – every inch of him was covered in bruises and dried blood, and although he was walking on his own it was obviously through a great effort of will that he was standing at all. As he exited the passageway, however, he drew in a deep breath and smiled. "You know, this is the first time I've been outside in three months."
Sirius looked as though he was about to say something, but then thought better of it and just laughed. "Right. Let's get out of here before we make it the last, yeah?"
James smiled back, but his grin soon faded as he glanced around the clearing uncertainly. "I don't see any horses, Sirius…"
"What?"
Sirius spun around, his eyes widening as he realized that James was right. "I thought you said…"
"Obviously I was wrong." said James slowly, shielding his eyes against the sun and glancing around worriedly. "Unless…you don't think they might be thestrals, do you?"
"Nah," said Sirius instantly, waving his hand dismissively. "We'd have seen 'em."
"Unless they aren't here right now."
"But if the reason we can't see them is because they're not here then it's pointless to say that they might be thestrals – they could just as well be any other sort of flying –"
"But they could be thestrals."
"But that's irrelevant! No matter what sort of horse it is that's supposed to be here, it's not here right now. And that's why we can't see it; not because it's a –"
"Although we've both seen people die, so even if it was a thestral I suppose we could see it."
"Yes, I've said that already…"
Harry, somewhat bemused as to the nature of this conversation, stepped away from James and stared around the clearing in astonishment. Something in particular at the far end of the clearing caught his eye – he squinted, staring intently at it for a moment, and then realized what it was.
Staggering backwards into Sirius, still staring with an almost horrified fixation at the opposite end of the small glade, Harry tugged forcibly on Sirius' hand and whispered fearfully, "Sirius? There's something over there…,"
"If you'd been – what?"
Sirius glanced down and, after a moment, dropped to his knees. Harry's green eyes were wide behind his broken wire-rimmed glasses, and he was visibly trembling as he turned to stare urgently at Sirius. "There." Harry whispered, pressing himself up against Sirius' side and pointing with a shaking hand in the direction he'd been staring.
Sirius gazed uncomprehendingly at the far end of the clearing – after a moment his eyes began to widen, and his face split in a grin. "I knew it wasn't thestrals…"
James, his gaze flickering between Harry and Sirius and the other side of the clearing, touched Sirius' shoulder lightly in inquiry. "Aethonans." said Sirius, gently pushing Harry towards James and getting to his feet with a stifled groan. "At least four of 'em, over there in the trees." James glanced up, and Sirius rolled his eyes and swatted gently at his head. "Not up there, you idiot – there." He grabbed James' head, swiveling it around to point in the right direction – James stared unseeingly for a moment, and then finally comprehension dawned on his face.
"Oh. Oh. Right. Good! Should we walk over and get them, or –"
"You can't just walk over to them! They'll fly away and then we'll be stuck. No, we've got to do it subtly…"
"Yeah? And how do we do that?"
Sirius thought about this for a moment. "Got any rope?"
James groaned. "We're not going to lasso them, Sirius…"
"Any better ideas, then?"
"Give me a moment, would you…"
"Remus."
Sirius and James both swiveled around and stared down at Harry in astonishment. "What?"
Harry, suddenly looking rather abashed, stared down at his feet and bit down on his lip. "The man said the horses won't attack you if you have the key, right? And Remus has the key. So maybe if they see Remus is with us they'll know we're friends."
"What man?" asked Sirius, at the same time that James said, "Brilliant!" They stared at each other for a moment, Sirius' gaze questioning and James' elated – then James grabbed Sirius' arm, smiling placatingly at him and murmuring, "Later." Sirius swallowed back a sharp retort and with difficulty nodded, pulling his arm free of James' grip and walking back towards the large boulder where Remus floated barely a foot above the ground.
"This whole thing's way over my head, mate." muttered Sirius, glancing up at Remus' face with a bitter smile as he waved his wand and muttered something under his breath – Remus hovered for a brief moment in the air, and then fell straight into Sirius' waiting arms. Sirius winced, staggering under Remus' weight, and laughed humorlessly. "Merlin, I'm ready to go home…"
Sirius stumbled back towards Harry and James, Remus held limply in his arms. "Right. Here he is. Now what?"
James, now beginning to look as though he wasn't entirely sure this would work after all, shrugged. "Er…show him to them, I guess."
"Can't they see him now?"
James bit his lower lip and glanced at Sirius apologetically. "Maybe you should move in a bit closer…"
"What, they can't see him from here?" Sirius raised his voice, glaring fiercely at the half-hiddenhorse that was surveying them pensively from the safety of the wood. "Oi! You there! We have the key, so you'd better come out here now or we'll be seriously –"
"Sirius? Shut up."
Three horses were stepping into the clearing, their liquid brown eyes trained on Remus and their enormous feathered wings spread to catch the full brunt of the afternoon sun. Up close they looked enormous – the one nearest to Sirius was a good two heads taller than him, each of its feet the size of small plates and its outstretched wings at least twelve feet long. It whickered warningly as Sirius approached, and Sirius froze. "Now what?"
James shrugged. "Make friends."
Sirius' voice was beginning to rise with panic as the horse began to trot closer to him. "Ha, very funny. That's an excellent suggestion, Prongs! Just superb. I'll just 'make friends' with what is undoubtedly a highly volatile and dangerous –"
James sighed. "It's a horse, Sirius."
Harry giggled – Sirius, unable to withstand this new attack on his dignity, steeled himself and began to walk slowly forward, gazing fearfully at the horse all the while. "Hello, mate…Sirius Black, at your service…" The horse ducked its head at his approach, sniffing Remus and nuzzling his side, and almost at once Sirius' anxious face split into a relieved grin. "James, if you ever suggest anything like that ever again, I may very well have to kill you."
James rolled his eyes, walking forward to stand by Sirius and carefully ushering Harry forward with him. "Pansy. Let's say Harry and I take this horse and you and Remus take one of its friends, will that work?"
"Yeah, probably." Sirius bent down, laying Remus carefully on the ground before inching over and lacing his fingers together to give James a hand up. He heard James hiss sharply as he slid onto the horse's back, and he averted his eyes, pretending not to have heard – finally James was up, and he straightened. "Right. Your turn, Harry." He lifted Harry up, grunting slightly with the effort, and set him in front of James – Harry looked more exhausted than afraid now, and as James wrapped his arms around him he closed his eyes and leaned back against James' chest.
"Dad?" whispered Harry, cracking one eye open and glancing up at James as Sirius hoisted Remus onto the back of another of the horses. James, unable to keep from smiling, glanced down.
"Hmm?"
"Are we going home now?"
James laughed softly, bending down slightly to kiss Harry on the top of his head. "Yeah. We're going home."
ooooo
When they finally arrived at Hogwarts the sky was a canvas of red and purple and orange, ribbons of gold in the west and dusky blue in the east. There wasn't so much as a breath of wind – the lake was still as glass, reflecting the watercolor sky and the ancient castle standing sentinel over it all, and the silvery moon was just rising in the east as the dying sun faded in the west.
James dismounted the horse as quietly as he could, suppressing a groan as his sore and battered body rubbed against the horses' side. Harry was fast asleep, his mouth slightly open and his hands tangled in the horse's mane. With a sigh and a tired smile James lifted Harry off of the horse's back, careful not to wake him even as the horse whinnied and pawed the ground nervously. "Here we are…"
Sirius was already dismounted, one of his arms wrapped around Remus' waist while with his other arm he patted his horse's neck gratefully. "Good lads, these." he said cheerfully, his voice betraying none of the tiredness James was sure he must feel as he surveyed the two horses appraisingly. "Very gentlemanly. They've done their duty by us, and no mistake."
James was too exhausted to argue this point, even if he'd wanted to. "How do we get them to leave?"
"Ask 'em to, obviously." Sirius leaned forward, whispering into the horse's ear – the horse cocked its head as though to listen, and after Sirius finished and straightened it whinnied. "Right. No problem."
James waited a moment. One minute stretched into two – finally he coughed politely, fixing Sirius with a questioning look. "Padfoot? They're still here."
Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I'd noticed that." Sirius contemplated this for a moment, still staring thoughtfully at the horse's face – when nothing continued to happen he gave an exasperated snort and shoved the horse roughly away from him. "Go on, go!"
It was all the horse seemed to have been waiting for. It began to trot away from Sirius, slowly at first, and then faster and faster until soon it was galloping straight towards the lake – feet from the shore it leapt into the air, wings spreading and beating powerfully into the night sky. James' horse followed, until soon they were nothing more than coppery pinpricks against the sky. Seconds later and they were gone completely.
James sighed, tearing his gaze away from the sky and staring instead up at the castle. Warm, inviting light spilled from a hundred different windows and doors, beckoning to him and drawing him irresistibly forward, and before he knew it he was complying, staggering forward up the rough dirt path towards the school.
"Oi, Prongs! Wait up!"
It was as though a trance had been broken – James stopped suddenly, breaking his gaze away from the castle and trying to catch his breath as Sirius, half-carrying, half-dragging Remus, stumbled towards him. "What's gotten into you, mate?"
James shook his head, chancing a glance back at the castle and the warm, golden light spilling from it. "I just…I need this to be over, Sirius…"
Sirius nodded slowly, clapping James gently on the shoulder before pulling back to give James more space. "Right. Just – be careful, would you?" James looked properly chastened, and Sirius softened. "You want to know what I can't wait for? A real bed." He started off down the path again, James keeping pace with him now and Remus' arm still slung over his shoulder. "With lovely feather pillows and mountains of blankets and all the time in the world to do just as you please."
"In other words to sleep."
"Yes. And a fire too, I miss fires – lovely smoldering fires that are dying and crackling and spitting out sparks at you when you're trying to relax in front of them with hot chocolate and a cat. I miss your cat. That one you got in third year to impress Lily, before you knew she was allergic? I loved that cat. It was the greatest damn cat I think there ever was."
"How many times did she try and bite your nose off?"
"Thirteen. But still…Chianti, right? I loved Chianti. I swear there was never a better cat for sitting on your lap in front of a fire and eating all the marshmallows you'd accidentally set on fire. Even if you looked the whole world over you couldn't find a better one. How'd she die, again?"
"Snape threw her out a window."
"Yeah. Bastard." Sirius stared ruminatively off into the distance. The castle lights were growing closer and closer, even as the night around them grew darker and darker. They were barely fifty feet from the castle doors now, one of which was thrown wide open in the hopes of inviting in a nonexistent breeze. "Maybe I should get a cat. Only it wouldn't be half so brilliant as Chianti, that's the problem."
James shrugged, swallowing back a cry of pain as he began to slowly ascend the steps leading up to the doors, Harry still in his arms. "You never know. I'm sure you'd rub off on it a bit, at any rate."
"Mm. I s'pose." They were at the top of the steps now, the door open before them and a circle of welcoming, yellowy light surrounding them. "Right. After you?"
ooooo
He glanced down at his pocket watch, then up at the stained-glass windows lining the great hall. It was nearly six, and the light falling into the hall through the crimson and emerald and violet panels was dusky and growing darker. With a sigh he laid down his quill, picked up the yellowing piece of parchment he'd been writing on and, after a moment's consideration, tore it in four. Lucius Malfoy, his grey eyes tired and his face paler than usual, poured himself a final goblet of wine, picked it up, and got to his feet. "To hell with this," he muttered, to no one in particular – with a sigh he drained his goblet, threw it down, and strode out of the great hall.
The manor was eerily silent – the Death Eaters who had arrived the previous night were all gone, whisked away to some other, more hidden place somewhere else, and Lucius' footsteps rang eerily on the flagstone floor as he strode down the hallway, up one flight of stairs and then up another.
Finally he stopped in front of a large mahogany door. He straightened, swallowed, and with a discomfited smile pushed the door open. "Draco?" he whispered, instinctively keeping his voice down as he stepped into the room and closed the door softly. "Are you here?"
There was a soft exclamation, and a light flicked on, throwing the entire room into warm, comfortable light. "Father!" Lucius smiled again, more out of relief than anything. Draco was lying on his bed, a guilty smile on his face and something shoved rather conspicuously under the covers.
"I was just…making sure you were still up here." said Lucius lamely, sitting down on the edge of Draco's bed and toying listlessly with the covers. "So. Are you fine? Is everything alright?"
"Yes…," said Draco slowly, his brow furrowing slightly as he stared at Lucius confusedly. "Why?"
Lucius shrugged slightly, staring at absentmindedly at one of the dark oil paintings bedecking the bedroom wall. "No reason." There was an awkward silence for a moment – finally Lucius cleared his throat, turning slightly to smile at Draco. "Weather's nice tonight, isn't it?"
Draco shook his head slowly. "Is something wrong, father?"
"What? No. Everything's fine. I just wanted to see how you are, that's all."
Draco began to smile hesitantly. "I'm fine." He shifted slightly to the side, hiding whatever it was that was under his blankets from Lucius' view. "Is everyone gone? Can I come downstairs now?"
"Soon." Lucius reached over, brushing a strand of Draco's hair to the side and smiling wistfully. "Not yet. There's one thing left that has to be done, and then you'll be free to do whatever you like."
Draco considered this for a moment, grabbing Lucius' hand and pulling it down to his lap. He bit his lower lip, playing absentmindedly with Lucius' hand and staring determinably at his lap. "What's he still have left to do?"
"Nothing I need to worry you about." said Lucius softly, sliding closer to Draco and gazing pensively at him. Draco, not so easily deterred, shook his head.
"It doesn't have anything to do with you, does it?"
Lucius sighed. "Draco…"
"No! I knew it had something to do with you, I knew it…" Draco pulled away from Lucius, grabbing a pillow and hugging it protectively to his chest as he glared at Lucius. "Why do you keep doing this! Why do you –"
"Quiet!" snapped Lucius, clapping his hand over Draco's mouth and glancing uneasily towards the door. "Don't talk like that Draco, not while he's still here…"
Draco shoved Lucius' hand away, his eyes glittering but his mouth set in a furious line. "I'm not afraid of him." he announced loudly, burying his head in a pillow and recoiling when Lucius tried to grab his hand. "And I don't like him, and I'm never going to work for him, never."
"Draco!" said Lucius sharply, cupping his hand around Draco's chin and forcing Draco to look at him. Draco stared at him defiantly, his eyes sparkling and his cheeks flushed. Lucius softened, brushing Draco's cheek with his thumb and smiling sympathetically. "Draco, it's okay."
"I'm not –" Lucius raised an eyebrow, and Draco broke off with a low sob.
"It's okay." repeated Lucius, his voice softer now as he leaned forward and wrapped Draco in his arms. "Everything's going to be okay."
"How can you say –"
"Because I'm your father, that's why." Lucius pulled back from Draco, brushing away Draco's tears with the back of his hand and smiling reassuringly. "And if anything horrible threatens to happen I'll fend it off."
Draco sniffed loudly and gave a watery smile. "Like a knight?"
Lucius leaned forward and smiled confidentially. "Like a king."
Draco leaned forward again, nestling against Lucius' chest and closing his eyes. "What am I, then?"
"What?"
"If you're the king then what am I?"
Lucius laughed, burying his head in Draco's hair and inhaling deeply. "The prince, obviously."
Draco was silent, apparently contemplating this for a moment. Then – "I'd rather be the king. The king can do whatever he likes."
Lucius' throat hitched. He was silent for a moment, not trusting himself to speak. "Draco," he said at last, his voice hoarse as he pulled back and stared at Draco intently, "Can you promise me something?"
Draco blinked confusedly, but nodded. Lucius, suddenly unable to speak, smiled weakly and cupped Draco's face in his hand. "Whenever…whatever he happens," he said at last, bending down slightly to look Draco in the eye, "Promise me you'll be alright. Promise me – promise me you'll look after yourself."
Draco shook his head slowly, gazing at Lucius confusedly. "I don't –"
"No matter what happens," said Lucius, speaking more quickly now as the edges of the room grew darker and darker, "I have to know you'll be alright."
Draco was beginning to look frightened. "What are you talking about?"
Lucius tried to speak but couldn't – with a low sob he leaned forward, pulling Draco into a bone-breaking hug and closing his eyes. "I love you." he whispered, his voice taut with suppressed emotion. "And I need to know that no matter what you'll be alright. No matter what you'll be fine."
Draco nodded once, and Lucius swallowed and, with a great effort of will, pulled back. "Good. Good. Thank you." He smiled weakly, and Draco, hesitantly, smiled back. "I need to go now, Draco…"
He made to get up, but before he could Draco grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "You'll be fine too, won't you?"
Lucius didn't answer immediately, and Draco's grip on his hand tightened. "You'll come back?"
Lucius couldn't answer. He leaned forward, kissing Draco's forehead gently and squeezing his hand – but then he pulled away, sliding quickly off the bed and striding towards the door. "Draco?"
Draco sniffed loudly and hurriedly wiped his eyes. "Yes?"
Lucius, his back to Draco and his hand on the doorknob, paused and smiled. "Don't let your mother catch you eating chocolate up here."
Draco, a stunned look on his face, pulled the small pile of chocolate bars out from under his covers and stared at Lucius in astonishment. "How'd you –"
Lucius laughed and tilted his head towards Draco. "I'm the king, remember? I know everything."
Draco smiled hesitantly. "I think I'd rather be the prince, anyway."
Lucius nodded and smiled, pulling the door open and stepping into the hallway. "Good night, Draco." He paused for a moment, and then steeled himself and closed the door with a snap.
He walked down the hallway slower this time, taking his time as he strolled down the two flights of stairs and down another hallway into the great hall. The entire hall was now illuminated in warm, flickering firelight, the braziers lining the hall blazing merrily and the fire in the magnificent stone fireplace at the end of the hall crackling invitingly.
Lucius Malfoy closed and locked the large wooden doors behind him – as an afterthought he pulled out his wand, and soundproofed the hall with a wave of his hand. Then he turned back to face the hall, tucking his wand back into the pocket of his robes and lifting his head a trifle higher.
Lord Voldemort was standing alone in the middle of the hall, his back to Lucius and his wand held loosely at his side. As Lucius closed the door he turned around, his red eyes glinting in the dancing firelight. "Lucius. I was waiting for you."
Lucius swallowed and nodded. "Yes. I rather suspected you would be." He began to walk forward – slowly at first, and then with a trace of arrogance in his step. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."
An ugly scowl crossed Voldemort's face. "I've all the time in the world, thanks to you." he said silkily, his long white fingers tightening around his wand. "They're gone. Both Potters, Black, and Lupin. They're off the grounds, away from the wards and probably halfway to Hogwarts by now."
"A pity."
Voldemort's eyes flashed. "It has recently come to my attention," he snarled, his face darkening as he took three quick steps forward, "That you have betrayed me. Do you know what the punishment for traitors is, Lucius?"
Lucius nodded, sparing a glance to the side as Death Eaters, their faces hooded and masked, stepped out of the shadows and stared at him in silence. "Death, I presume."
"Yes. It is." But Lucius wasn't looking at Voldemort anymore – he was gazing closely at the crowd of silent Death Eaters, scanning them intently. Finally he found the person he was looking for – Severus Snape was standing in the far corner of the hall, his hunched posture and scowl instantly recognizable even despite his mask and the fact that he was half-hidden in shadow. Lucius smiled, and nodded slightly – Severus' nodded almost imperceptibly, and Lucius shifted his gaze back to Voldemort.
"My lord, I've ever been your most faithful, your most humble –"
"Silence!" roared Voldemort – the flames in the stone fireplace leapt higher, and Lucius snapped his mouth shut.
Voldemort, his skeletal face contorted in fury, strode forward until he and Lucius were standing inches apart. "Don't mock me," he hissed, his scarlet eyes narrowing and his wand stabbing into Lucius' neck, forcing Lucius to raise his head and stare him in the eye. "You allowed them to escape."
Lucius' eyes flashed. "I did not."
Voldemort's lipless mouth curled in a vicious, humorless smile. "Where is the key, Lucius?"
Lucius froze. "What key?" he answered, his voice calm only through a great effort of will. Voldemort's smile grew.
"You know perfectly well what key." he whispered, leaning forward slightly and pressing his wand viciously into Lucius' throat. Lucius shivered and closed his eyes, but didn't answer. Finally Voldemort's smile turned into a disgusted scowl, and he shoved Lucius to the floor with a snarl. "Crucio." he growled, stabbing his wand at Lucius as Lucius began to push himself back to his feet.
The curse threw Lucius back to the floor – he was being stabbed a hundred thousand times by white hot knives; pain was shooting through his body, consuming him and burning him from the inside out, and it went on and on and on…but he wouldn't scream, no matter how badly it hurt he would kept that last shred of dignity and pride around him, and so he bit down on his lower lip, bit down so hard he could feel warm, coppery blood rush into his mouth…
Finally Voldemort raised his wand, his face unreadable but his eyes glinting menacingly in the dancing firelight. Lucius was shivering uncontrollably, his body still wracked with pain as he spat out a mouthful of blood and pushed himself to his knees. "My lord," he whispered, his voice raw and hoarse as he lifted his gaze and stared almost desperately at Voldemort, "I have ever been your most faithful, your most humble ser–"
"Crucio."
This time he couldn't help it – he screamed, screamed until it felt as if his throat was raw and bleeding, screamed until finally after what felt like hours Voldemort raised his wand again. His arms were shaking almost too badly to support him, but somehow he managed to push himself back onto his knees. He was glaring defiantly at Voldemort now, even though when he spoke his voice was barely more than a forcefully controlled sob. "Your most faithful, your most humble servant…"
"Crucio."
He was on the floor again, screaming until he thought his lungs would burst, screaming until he couldn't think any more.
"Crucio."
"Crucio."
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A/N - Yeah...yeah. Er - before I'm drawn and quartered by any rabid Lucius fans, I really must say that I was surprised and a bit horrified that it happened, as well. Up until this chapter I didn't think any of the good guys would die. But like I said above, this chapter completely wrote itself...
On a more cheerful note - how was Abaddon's death? I had quite a lot of people clamoring for a spectacular ending for him, so any thoughts on that (good or bad!) will be loved and cherished.
Also - special thanks to SeriousSiriusFan (x2), Moony'sgirlthroughandthrough (happy belated b-day! Hope you like the (admittedly horribly late) present!), Risu, YoYo (Wow - I think that's one of the greatest compliments anyone's ever given me), maria, P, Sandra, sigi (No...the story's not going to extend that far, sorry. I mean, I know what's going to happen afterwards but I'm not going to write out that far - if you want to know the whole scoop leave your email and I'll email it to you), Will/Elizabeth F-O-R-E-V-E-R, Polly wants a cracker...gas..., and Genna - the anonymous reviewers! I love you all!
Next update - (at the moment untitled). In which Hogwarts is entered, our heroes fall to pieces, and Dumbledore is very, very confused. Probably not coming any time soon, on account of school and horrid honors classes.
Right. PLEASE, PLEASE review and tell me what you thought of everything, and a million thanks to everyone who's already reviewed! Til next time - G'bye!