Chapter Twenty - Plans

Tonight, number twelve Grimmauld Place was quieter than usual. The only people in the house were Sirius, Remus and Hermione. Harry and the rest of his friends decided to go out for a small and very private drink. Tonks and many other members were at work, while the Weasley's returned to the Burrow.

Sirius at the moment was upstairs, in his mother's old room, feeding Buckbeak some old chicken bones that had been left downstairs. Sirius was in no mood to go out tonight. Lately, he didn't really feel like doing anything. The last time Rowena was here, she had gotten the better of him and he still felt completely foolish whenever he thought about it.

Down the stairs one floor was Remus' old room. He still used it when he stayed here overnight; normally it happened when an Order meeting ran on for longer than planned. Tonight Tonks was working and Remus wasn't sure if she would be coming home tonight. He knew Hermione was here too but he kept moving around his room, cleaning and putting things away, anything to keep his mind away from those thoughts, which were terribly, terribly wrong for him to have.

His desire to keep himself busy only lasted another an hour. He was done cleaning, so he sat down on his bed. He had hoped for a meeting tonight, they hadn't had one since Rowena had escaped. Remus still thought about it a lot, more often than he should, he knew that. But he kept wondering what would have happened if he acted sooner. Rowena might not have escaped.

It greatly surprised him that she seemed to get away so easily, though he knew she had her father's talents, nothing that he thought were to brag about anyway since they would probably be used for evil and for her father's bidding. Remus sighed. He knew he wasn't the only one to blame though. Sirius had trusted her and it was misplaced. He knew from the start that she couldn't be trusted. He just wondered why it took everyone else so long to see it and then his thoughts turned to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was a great man, but when it came to Rowena he seemed blind and foolish. Remus knew that Dumbledore raised Rowena from a baby but surely he couldn't have forgotten who she was and what she could possibly be capable of, though, Remus also knew that love sometimes doesn't show you what you need to know. He knows it can be blinding and it can be worse when you hear something about someone you love, something you don't want to hear.

Remus sighed again. He really should stop thinking about things so much. It doesn't help anyone to dwell on them, it just creates more questions for him and the answers are becoming scarce. Remus ran his hands through his light brown hair and rubbed his hands over his tired face. He was younger than he really looked. It was one of the disadvantages of being a werewolf.

There came a light tap at his bedroom door. He looked at it, he held his breath. A small part of him wished it was Sirius but he knew it had to be Hermione. Sirius wasn't really talking to anyone lately, not since the last incident.

Remus got to his feet and he walked across the room to the door. He opened and it and it was Hermione that was standing there. She looked happy, fresh, somehow. She smiled at him and he returned it.

'Is something wrong?' he asked politely.

She shook her head gently. 'No, I'm just looking for someone to talk to and I don't think Sirius is in the talking mood, so I was wondering if you were.'

Remus thought about it but then quickly decided to let Hermione inside. Her smile lingered for a little bit longer as she looked around the room. When she reached the middle she stood. She flexed her toes; she could feel the softness of a sheep skin rug beneath her bare feet. Hermione turned and looked at Remus, who was still closing the bedroom door.

He sighed heavily and looked at the woman in his room. He was married, this was wrong. He kept telling himself the same thing over and over but he never seemed to understand his own message. He moved into the room and stood near Hermione. He looked her over and Hermione noticed. He mentally kicked himself but Hermione didn't seem to mind.

She smiled again at Remus, but this time he had trouble returning it. She closed the distance between them and she looked up into Remus' hazel eyes which were sprinkled with gold. Remus glanced back into Hermione's chocolate coloured eyes. Hermione took one step closer. A little closer than Remus knew was safe.

He could see the faint brown freckles spread across her nose and they continued under eyes but were only visible close up. Remus' breathing slowly turned shallow and he noticed Hermione's eyes kept looking and lingering on his lips.

'We can't,' breathed Remus, trying to keep his voice steady.

'I know you're married to Tonks but....' she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

'Why not give Ron another chance?' asked Remus trying to shift the subject.

'He's immature,' said Hermione. 'And he's jealous and over-protective and possessive and... Well, the list could go on,' she said smiling.

Remus couldn't help but chuckle at that. Hermione was intelligent and bright. He loved that in a woman, he just wished Hermione was a little older. He looked away and started to move but Hermione grabbed his arm firmly.

'Please...'

She moved closer and their clothes were now touching. Hermione's breathing hitched in her throat and she exhaled slowly. She pushed herself onto her tiptoes and gently pressed her lips against Remus'. They both moaned faintly at the touch but Remus tried his hardest not to return the kiss. Hermione pushed away and walked to the door quickly, tears in her eyes.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

She grabbed the door knob and turned it quickly but the door only opened for a split second before it was slammed shut by Remus, who was now standing behind Hermione. He looked down at her and waited for her to turn around. Her head was bowed and she gently wiped under her eyes.

Remus couldn't wait. He grabbed her arms and turned her around so that she faced him. She seemed surprised by his dominance. Remus pushed Hermione against the door and he bent his head and crushed his lips against hers.

Hermione instinctively wrapped her arms around Remus' neck and she immediately submitted, allowing him inside her mouth. His tongue explored every place possible. Hermione moaned into his mouth and Remus pushed his body against Hermione's, making her squeal. Remus' hands then travelled down Hermione's body and came to rest on her hips; their kiss still had not broken.

When they finally pulled apart, they both looked at each other. They were both flushed and had their mouths open. Neither of them knew what to say.

'I'm sorry,' said Remus after another moment's silence.

'Don't be,' breathed Hermione.

Remus walked away and ran a hand through his greying hair. A part of Remus was screaming for him to stop but another part told him to go for it, that he might never get an opportunity with Hermione like this again but then his thoughts went to his wife and son, they didn't deserve this. He looked back at Hermione and she smiled faintly and nodded her understanding.

She opened the door and slipped out quietly and Remus walked to his bed and lay on his stomach and buried his head in the pillows. He had been a fool. Hermione would make a wonderful wife for any man; he shouldn't be out ruining her with his werewolf ways. Remus went back to his constant thinking while mentally hurting himself the entire night.

Rowena made her way down the steps into the dungeons. The strong, putrid smell hit her instantly. She crunched her nose before looking to each cell. Blaise and Hannah were all still there. Rowena entered Blaise's cell. This time around he wasn't tied or chained to the wall but he had settled himself into one of the corners.

He jumped when his cell door opened but he quickly relaxed when he saw it was just Rowena and not someone else. Most of his clothes were ripped and shredded. His skin was dirty and grimy with blood and sweat. Rowena also couldn't help but notice how many scratches Blaise had all over his body.

It was obvious to Rowena that Greyback has been having a fun time with Blaise in her absence. She was a little surprised that Greyback hadn't turned him into werewolf but Rowena knew her father wanted her to kill Blaise and no one else. So, maybe Greyback was forced to play nice with this toy. It made Rowena slightly sick thinking about it. Blaise didn't deserve this. This was worse than death and she was sure Blaise knew it.

'How are you?' asked Rowena. She conjured a chair and sat down.

Blaise's face turned to anger. 'How do you think I fucking feel?' he spat angrily. 'Greyback won't leave me alone... I can't... I... can't... do this anymore....'

Blaise exhaled sharply and tears rolled down his scarred face. Rowena thought he was once handsome but no longer. She knew Blaise was hurting and because of this, she didn't want to kill him. It would be too much.

'I'm sorry,' whispered Rowena.

'Your apologies mean nothing to me.'

Rowena sighed in slight frustration. 'I will get you out of here....'

'Yeah I'm sure,' he said heavily.

'...you will not die here,' finished Rowena.

'Look how this turned out,' said Blaise

'Well, last time I trusted you and you decided to try and escape,' said Rowena. 'My father will not be so forgiving next time and I can't afford it to happen again but...' she paused slightly. 'I am still going to get you out of here. I believe you've suffered enough.'

'When?' asked Blaise, his breathing quickening.

'It will be soon.'

'Why haven't I been killed yet?' he asked frowning. He moved a little bit away from the corner. He wasn't sure of whether to trust Rowena in this case, but he wanted nothing more than to get out of here, alive.

'Well, it's my job to kill you,' said Rowena. 'I'll think of something and when I do, I shall come back down here.'

Blaise mumbled something but Rowena didn't hear what it was. She left the cell, locking it on the way out and she peered in the other cells. Hannah was lying on the floor but Rowena knew she was alive; her chest was rising and falling. Rowena guessed that she was asleep.

Sometime later, in the middle of March, Rowena finally decided to ask someone about Legilimency and she only knew two people that would be able to teach it, Snape and her father. She had thought about asking her father first but she knew he wanted to get into her mind and she didn't really want to give him that chance, so, on one warm spring night, Rowena knocked on the front door to Snape's house.

Her father had told her where to go. She couldn't believe Snape lived in a Muggle street. It made her wonder if he was part Muggle, though it didn't really matter to her. No-one had yet answered, so Rowena knocked on the door again, this time, harder. After another long stretch, she heard footsteps.

The heavy, black door opened and she saw Snape's pale face, curtained by his oily black hair, poke itself around the door to see outside. He looked Rowena up and down, checking to see if she was alone, which of course, she wasn't. Walden was standing a few feet behind her. She had told him to wait outside until she was finished.

'What do you want?' asked Snape, curtly.

'I would like to speak to you, in private,' she replied politely.

Snape's lip curled but he said nothing. He opened the door and Rowena slinked inside, which wasn't much better than the outside. The living-room wasn't much, there were a few sofas and a large bookcase which stretched along one wall and it was overflowing with books. The walls were all painted grey and it was flaking. The carpet was old and looked rough. Rowena wondered what made Snape stay here.

Snape closed the door and joined her in the living room. 'And what may I do for you?'

'I would like to learn Legilimency,' she said with no hesitation.

'May I ask what for?'

She knew Snape was suspicious but it wasn't really any of his business. 'No, my reasons are my own.'

'Either way, I think you should ask your father,' said Snape delicately. 'He's a far better Legilimens than me, I'm sure he would be more than happy to teach you.''

'Very well,' said Rowena slowly.

Nothing more was said between them and Rowena made her way back to the Riddle house. She entered the drawing room and she stopped suddenly, her father was in here. His head slowly turned to face her.

'Is something wrong, my dear?'

Rowena walked closer to him and she nodded. 'Yes, I want to learn Legilimency.'

'Why not ask Severus?'

'I already did,' said Rowena. 'He told me it would be better if you did it. That you were far more skilled at it than him.'

'And why do you want to learn it?' asked Voldemort quietly.

'I think it could be useful,' replied Rowena honestly.

Voldemort stood up and waved his hand, the chair he had been sitting on disappeared. He had his back turned to Rowena for a moment before looking back at her, his scarlet eyes glowing. 'You'll have to let your guard down.'

'What do you mean?' asked Rowena, confused.

'You must not use Occlumency during these lessons; otherwise it will not work properly.'

'Alright,' said Rowena slowly. 'But how do you teach it?'

'First, we'll need someone to practice on, I'm sure one of my followers would be glad to....'

Rowena cut across. 'And why would I have to not use Occlumency?'

'I'll get to that my dear,' said Voldemort. 'Let it down now. I want you to feel what it's like to have someone in your mind.'

'Um ... right now?'

'Is there something wrong with that?' asked Voldemort, lightly.

Rowena shook her head but it did not convince Voldemort. She didn't feel able to tell him that she didn't want him in her mind, searching through it at will. She was not a book and especially not an open one at that.

She shifted her weight on to her other foot as she quickly thought about her options, but it turned out that Voldemort wasn't going to give her one. He wanted to see in her mind and this was the best opportunity that he was likely to get. He strode to his daughter so quickly that it looked like a blur and he wrapped a pale, long-fingered hand around her throat.

He squeezed gently and Rowena gasped, her breath catching slightly. Her eyes widened in fear and he father made sure their eyes stayed in contact. She could feel the pressure of her father's mind on her own and she kept her wall up. Rowena could feel the sweat beginning to form on her forehead as she continued to resist.

'Let me in,' hissed Voldemort.

The pressure around her neck became tighter and she gasped for breath again. Rowena now wished she hadn't told Walden to wait in her bed chambers, telling him that she was going to be with her father and that she would be alright.

Her guarded wall was beginning to fail. It was evident that Voldemort's Legilimency skills were no match for her own Occlumency ones. Her father was stronger and more skilled than her and he was going to get into her mind whether she liked it or not.

When her wall broke, Voldemort immediately plundered into every memory he could find and they flashed before Rowena's eyes. She was more than aware that her father was watching everything she could see in front of her.

Her first day at a Muggle primary school. Rowena cringed. It was one of those memories that you never wanted to remember again. Her time at a Muggle primary school didn't last long as her magical abilities came in quickly and she started making too much trouble and Albus didn't want the Muggles to notice anything.

Rowena's first day at Durmstrang, her first meeting with teachers, other students and finally William. She knew her father could feel the hatred that she had for her old Charms teacher. Whenever he floated within her mind, she flinched. She had never wanted to see his face again. Just seeing him made her want to kill him all over again.

Voldemort made a noise but Rowena couldn't really make out what it was and finally the thing came up that Rowena had been dreading more than ever. Her talks with Albus and most especially, the killing of her mother. It felt like Voldemort kept replaying the memory and was burning onto his own mind, so he wouldn't forget it. Rowena wanted to sick.

She had killed her mother but it was a mistake. She didn't mean to kill her, it's just what happened. She had been angry; surely other people could understand that, right?

When Voldemort pulled out of her head, Rowena gasped and the white hand let go of her throat and she fell heavily onto the floor. She bent over and coughed and panted until her breath came back.

'You really do take after me,' said Voldemort softly. Rowena knew he was enjoying this. 'I think you're more like me than you care to admit. And I knew that Albus would try everything in his power to stop it from happening and ... he failed.'

It went quiet and Rowena remained where she was. She had no intention of speaking right now. There was nothing she wanted to say, nothing she wanted to admit to and there was nothing she wanted to talk about.

Voldemort continued his slight mock taunting. 'I suppose there is nothing more satisfying than killing someone without the killing curse. It can be bloody, violent and pleasurable. I prefer the killing curse. I have no time for fools, but I suppose, you don't like the killing curse and I don't blame you. Not much fun in it, is there?'

Rowena shook her head but continued to remain quiet. She was now sitting up but she kept her eyes firmly on the floor.

'Killing your charms teacher wasn't enough, was it? I suppose we all get angry and frustrated. I wonder what Dumbledore would say if he knew you murdered one of your own teachers and under everyone's noses too. So, tell me, how did you kill your charms teacher?'

Rowena had waited a long time to get this out of her head and into someone else's. 'His name was Roger Baransti, he was my charms teacher and he would have a go at me whenever possible. I hated him and I'm sure it was mutual. One night I had a detention with him and I found him quite inappropriate and it ... pushed me over the edge. I could no longer stand it.'

She paused and took a shaky breath; tears stung the back of her eyes and quickly threatened to fall. 'I had learnt that he like to have a drink from a silver goblet he kept on his desk. I decided I would use it against him. One day, I went down to the potions classroom and retrieved some aconite. I snuck into Baransti's office, I was lucky he wasn't there and I noticed the goblet already had something in it.

'It was perfect. I took the plant from my robes and I crushed it up before pouring the entire contents into the silver goblet,' said Rowena, her voice becoming stronger. 'Baransti came back into the office not long and I had to hide. I hid in his liquor cabinet and it didn't take him long to have a drink. He began to choke almost immediately. I was proud of myself. When I knew he was definitely going to die, I jumped out so he would see me and I dropped his wand on the floor near him. I told him that he deserved to die and I still believe that now. If he were alive, I would do it again, with no hesitations and no regrets.'

Rowena stopped talking and she took a deep breath, sighing as she exhaled. She was tired just from telling that story. It hadn't felt it had been this long. Thinking of his death always cheered her up. She imagined that part of her came from her father. She couldn't imagine her mother being that way at all. She seemed like a nice person. A very small part of Rowena wished she could be more like her mother.

'And what about your mother?' asked Voldemort, as though he had just read her thoughts.

'I.... don't.... know....I-'

She seemed unable to say much about it. She didn't want to. Voldemort's thin lips seemed to curl upwards but it wasn't quite a smile, it was more of a leer.

'I wonder what your mother's fiancée would have thought,' said Voldemort, more to himself but Rowena couldn't stay quiet about that.

'I don't care what he would think,' she shouted. She got up off the floor and brushed her robes off quickly. She wanted to be heard on this.

'She abandoned me and left it to someone else to raise me. She then found herself a man and decided to have a baby with him! What about me?' Rowena found herself unable to stop now that she had started.

'She never cared about me,' she shouted so loud that her voice echoed. 'She told me that she wasn't interested in ever meeting me, kept saying that I would have a better life with someone else. She then tried to tell me she was sorry, she wasn't sorry, she just thought it was something I wanted to hear.'

Rowena began to shake with rage but she ignored it. 'Like I told you before, I killed her, yes, but it was an accident. After everything we had talked about I became angry and upset and I lost myself. It didn't feel like it was me doing it at the time. I felt as though I was on the roof looking down at the scene. I think about it now and I feel sick.... but another part of me is glad of what happened. She's gone and can never say that we met.'

The shaking became worse and the tears that threatened to fall earlier were now spilling down her cheeks. She didn't bother to wipe them away. 'As I said, I became angry and upset and I lost myself. She kept apologising and I didn't want to hear it.

'And for some reason I withdrew my wand I then my mother became hysterical and kept saying that I was like you. I couldn't fathom it at the time. It never occurred to me to ask how she escaped. I brandished my wand and it hit her in the neck. The blood poured down her neck and her pale skin seemed even paler and her eyes had widened. She was shocked, as was I at what I had done. The blood pooled on the floor and she tried to run but she slipped in it and fell to the floor, hitting her head on one of the wooden tables on the way down. There was nothing I could do except get rid of any evidence of my being there and that's what I did.'

When Rowena had finished talking, she collapsed back onto the floor and fell into tears. It was too much to hold now. It was done, someone else now knew about it, even though she knew her father had always suspected her. Though right now, she didn't feel any better after telling her horror story, she felt worse.

She felt like she had just fallen apart. She buried her face within her hands and continued to cry and Voldemort quietly and wordlessly, left the room.

At the end of April, Rowena had finally learnt to use Legilimency, though she knew it wasn't strong. At the moment, she could only look into someone's mind for a short period of time, but she thought it was better than nothing. Her lessons had stopped because her father had been angry lately and it wasn't helping her to learn it.

The Death Eaters had gone on a raid but it went badly, no-one was killed but a few of them were injured and Voldemort had gone with them on this one. It had been a while since he had joined them. He wanted to watch the night's entertainment, but it didn't go according to plan.

The Order had showed up and ruined everything. No Muggles were killed. Voldemort suspected that someone told the Order that they were going to be there. Rowena couldn't think of anyone that would tell them, though she didn't quite trust Snape, or Narcissa Malfoy, even though she wasn't a Death Eater, despite the fact that she was allowed to attend meetings.

All Rowena wanted to do now was to set Blaise free and she going to do it tonight. She told her father her plan on killing him, something fun. She suggested a man-hunt. All Death Eaters involved but they were to only catch him and Rowena would kill him if found. She said if the Death Eaters caught him instead of her then they would start again and she suggested it be done in the graveyard.

Rowena was pleased when Voldemort came back to her and approved the game. Rowena went down to the cells to tell Blaise herself.

'You're gonna what?' he shouted at her, after hearing the plan.

'Just calm down,' said Rowena, shushing him. 'There's more to it. I'm going to place a Portkey behind one of the grave stones; all you have to do is go straight to it.'

'What about the other Death Eaters?' he asked.

'I'll send them in a different direction but make sure be quick. I don't want this to go badly.'

'Who else knows?'

Rowena frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'Does anyone else know you're doing this?'

'No,' said Rowena quietly.

She looked towards the cell door but no one was there. She had locked it and placed a strong silencing charm over the room, but she still felt a little paranoid. She knew her father could find things out easily but could there be a reason he wouldn't trust her? She thought it through. The only thing she could think of was that she hadn't killed Blaise yet, so why now?

'Good,' said Blaise quietly.

Rowena knew he was in pain. She really wanted to help but it would have to wait until later tonight. When she left the cells and went back up into the drawing room, she made her no-one saw her.

When Snape returned to Grimmauld Place, everyone was in the living-room, waiting for him. Sirius had complained about being stuck in the kitchen for every meeting, so now they held some in other rooms, which were large enough to hold everyone comfortably.

Snape entered the living room and looked around. Everyone really was here. It was Dumbledore that addressed him first. Everyone else just stared up at him, waiting.

'What do you have for us, Severus?' Dumbledore asked in a pleasant tone.

Snape looked to Harry Potter, his black eyes looking over the insolent boy. He was technically a man but Snape would never see it. Harry shifted in his seat but he stared back, unfazed by Snape's gaze.

'The Dark Lord, his daughter and his followers will be at the graveyard tonight,' he said confidently.

'For what?' asked Remus.

'I'm getting to it, Lupin,' snapped Snape. 'Rowena has planned a man-hunt game for them tonight. The Dark Lord has kept Blaise alive, he wants Rowena to kill him and only she is allowed to do it. I don't think she's able to do it with everyone watching, so she turned it into a game.'

'Why with the Death Eaters?' asked Hermione, frowning faintly.

'She said the rule was that if a Death Eater catches Blaise then they start again. The object of the game is for Rowena to capture and kill Blaise.'

'Do you think she will?' asked Dumbledore.

Snape shrugged. 'I don't know. It's taken her this long to even come close to killing him. I don't know why she has suddenly changed her mind about doing it.'

There was a long pause. 'By your appearance here Potter, I take it that the Horcrux's are gone?'

'Yes,' said Harry clearly.

'Are you sure?'

'Yes,' repeated Harry, his eyes burning with hatred. 'We will go tonight and finish this. Voldemort is almost mortal once more. All we need is the snake, but it has to be done in person.'

'Good,' said Dumbledore cheerfully.

No one else in the room shared the same enthusiasm about the night ahead. They were all facing death and it scared them.

When the meeting ended, Remus and Tonks went straight home to be with their son, who was now almost eighteen months old. It could be their last chance with him. Sirius returned upstairs to his mother's room and Buckbeak and Harry and friends spent the rest of the time that day together. They all knew it could end here.