The Hunt

Chapter 21

Bellatrix

Lucius had turned on his heel having left his wife Narcissa for dead on the trail and resumed his trek towards a cave that had been secreted many years earlier when Lord Voldemort had first returned. It was a plan that had been put into place for his Death Eaters to go to should something ever go wrong or if he himself would have need to flee and he should want to summon them they would know where to go. Though it was a small cave it was connected to several other caves as part of a cave system. Located in a Western country far away from the Wizarding world it was a perfect area to lay low, to regroup, to rethink plans that may have gone wrong in the attempt to take over the entire wizarding world. But now it was being used to hide and protect the two most sought after wizards, both wanted in connection for the willful murder of Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy.

The trail became less negotiable as it narrowed and then abruptly ended at a narrow slit between to large boulders. Lucius had to turn sideways and inch his way nearly thirty feet between these two large boulders that formed what appeared like a tunnel as they leaned against each other at the top. He could feel the magics that had been placed in this area as if they were wards to fend off unwanted or undesirable creatures and or persons but being a Death Eater Lucius knew how to turn these wards away from him. His breathing had flattened and became shallow and it infuriated him even more as he felt his pulse quicken with fear. He knew that this stretch of the trail had been designed to illicit that very feeling and that was the one thing that help him to keep panic from rising any further than it had.

He had been literally taken out of prison about five months earlier by his sister-in-law who was killed in the process of helping him to escape. He was to meet Narcissa but she was late in arriving to show him to a safe house. Lucius had convinced himself that she was the one that had told the Aurors about the planned escape. He knew that someone had to have told them about it because everything that night had gone wrong. She said that she had been meeting Kreacher. Lucius had struck her for lying to him but she stuck to her story reminding him that Kreacher was still loyal to the proper Black family members and she had hoped that he would know the whereabouts of that pompous Harry Potter. She had told him that Potter had been missing for several years and had hoped that he had met his death which would mean that Kreacher now belonged to Bella and would be able to help them get their child back. Her euphoria seemed as though it were played up. As if she were excited by something other than seeing him and she used the hopes of seeing their son again as a cheap excuse for her excitement. She was not in the least bit excited to see him. Bella had been right all along he thought. It wasn't him she was excited to see not the thought of seeing their son once again. It was her fool lover Severus, that excited her and it sickened him. He almost killed her then and there but he wanted his son to see what a proud Malfoy does to those that that try to cheat them. Draco would see his cheating mother die at the feet of her lover and then he would watch his jailor die with her.

Narcissa had loved her husband more than he would ever know. There was only one other man in her life and that man was her twenty-one year old son that she had not seen since he was sixteen years old. She had no eyes for any other and she had spent nearly all their family's fortune in trying to gain her husbands release paying bribes here and there. Her only crime was to confide her admiration of Severus Snape in his unfaltering dedication to their masters wished and to the safety of hers and husbands only son. Bella knew of this cave but she would not tell Narcissa where it was nor would she attempt to get a message to the cave. She held this information over her sister's head in retribution for causing her to lose favorite status with their Lord. Bella had changed from that day when she followed Narcissa to Spinners End to meet with Snape the summer before Draco's sixth and final year at Hogwarts. Several times Bella had threatened to kill her for allowing Snape whom Bella would call spineless or even traitor to interfere with the instructions that he had given to Draco. It had never occurred to Narcissa that Bellatrix would meet with Lucius and whisper lies in his ears

When Bella had finally told Narcissa of the upcoming prison break Bella had given Narcissa a different time in which she was to meet with her husband so Narcissa took the chance to meet with Kreacher once again hoping that he could now follow her orders or at least provide information about her son which he was able to tell her that Draco was still alive and very well taken care of and that he was being prepared to succeed as the next Dark Lord which thrilled her immensely but when she met her husband that night she was late and he would not hear anything that she had to tell him. He even refused to believe that Voldemort had been killed by Harry Potter which Kreacher had been able to confirm for her. Bella had even refused to believe this information although she had not seen her Master for nearly a year and a half though she felt that she knew where their Master had gone but Bella refused again to tell Narcissa where that place was, only that she would find out when the time for that would present itself.

Lucius exited the defile nearly spilling himself over a very high cliff that opened into a chasm steeped in shadows so that he could not see its bottom. The path now followed along a cliff wall and he could see that in the distance it turned around the cliff wall but it was getting late into the evening and in darkness trying to negotiate this next segment would indeed be a most perilous thing to attempt. Sweat was poring freely down his face now and his pulse was beating at a deadly pace. He knew that he needed to stop and rest but he was so very near his destination, but to continue would be foolish to say the very least so he eased himself back through the rock defile to a place he had seen just before entering. It was a depression in the rock wall with a ledge overhang that provided protection on three sides and would be satisfactory for the night. He retraced his steps the quarter mile back to where Narcissa still laid on the path and stripped her of her cloak and wand and then kicked her body off the trail and out of sight before retreating back to where he was going to spend the night.

Malfoy had not heard yet of his beloved Masters death nor the circumstances behind Voldemort's death and as he nestled himself into the little alcove that formed his overnight shelter he allowed himself the luxury of imagining the glory he would receive when he brings this lecherous traitor to his knees before his Master. His Master had to be at this cavern if it were in use. This was something that he had not thought of before. "Why was the cavern in use," he had wondered. This did not make any sense to him unless Snape went renegade, which would not surprise him. He had once liked Snape but now he could not figure out why he had ever done so. Draco had spoken at great lengths of this man's intelligence and it was amusing to see and hear of how he treated that Potter brat. "I should have killed that meddling boy when I had the chance" Lucius cursed Harry as he smacked a fist into his own hand. That Potter boy was as meddling and just as slippery as Snape was but he will meet his end if he had not yet done so. "After I finish with my sly friend, that Potter boy will be next." He swore aloud to the stars that had now filled the night.

In his silence, sounds of the night interrupted the black stillness that surrounded him with the periodic noises and whispers of nature, and the occasional wisp of wind through the rocks, Lucius Malfoy battled with the various means at his disposal in which to dispose of the two men that stood in his way to greatness, and the right hand of the Dark Lord. So lost in his thoughts, he had not noticed that a darkness had crept over the soft light of a half moon and a chill had seeped into the nights wind. Lucius allowed the now total blackness of the night to envelope him and he thanked the Creator for matching the darkness of his mood and the chill of his heart as he now embellished a rich scene of what he would have Snape do while being under the imperious curse. His mood brightened as he imagined having Snape peel his own skin away from his flesh while under his control and relished at that thought of instructing his son on how one punishes the insignificant that tries to take over.

The Malfoy family had been strong and proud for over six hundred years with each and every member a pure blood. They had gained their family fortune in the merchant and shipping business early on and allied themselves with equally strong, wealthy, and pure blooded wizard families for as long as any could remember. They had held rank and power in the 1700's in his Majesty's Royal Navy serving as Ships Masters and Captaincy's whose ships had always miraculously survived storms, warfare, and piracy. A hundred years later the Malfoy family had nearly dominated merchant shipping with every company owned ship carrying at least one pure blooded wizard as Ships Master. It was then that the Malfoy's were a large and thriving family but suddenly they began to die out. No one knew exactly when it began but many had accused an ancestor of the late 1700's of marrying the daughter of a wealthy muggle. Though the marriage was largely a financial arrangement which had nearly tripled the Malfoy's vast wealth, only one child was born out of that marriage, Lucius's great grandfather, and ever since there had been only one male child to hand the family's fortune down to. The Malfoy's had also lost their rights to business for an improper business dealing during that time and now lived off of a substantial residual income that still amassed very large profit through interest though no Malfoy had actually worked since his grandfather's time.

When Lucius took over as the Family Patriarch he swore to himself that he would make the Malfoy family name synonymous with greatness and business once again, and had already started a small merchant and shipping business within the wizarding world. Draco was being prepared to take over and in his time bring the family name and honor that it had once been. His Master had seen this to be and had promised it to be in return for his devotion of loyalty and his dedication of leading pure blood families back into their rightful places of greatness and power. Sleep was taking over as Lucius relaxed in his revelry of his family's greatness. "The Malfoy family will be great once again!" Though the words were barely uttered the shout in his mind echoed, and then he smiled to himself. He understood clearly what was going on between Snape and his wife. "That filthy slut!" He was wide awake again as he hissed with intensity. "Ah, but Severus you are the sly one aren't you?" He continued talking to himself. "Beguile my wife while I'm in prison, befriend my son, and besmirch my name, my ability." Lucius saw the plan clearly now in his head now. "Take advantage of my absence, soothe her fears and woes, show her tenderness, and bed her!" he spat the last words out as the thoughts rankled. He pictured the scenes of how it must have happened. "He must have Draco calling him father by now." Sparks were shooting from his wand tip as he was tapping it quite harshly in his hand. "Had Bella not come to me to tell me the truth, to aide me…, I would be dead by now." Lucius spit onto the ground as if trying to rid himself of a foul taste in his mouth.

"Was Draco a part of this plan?" he wondered to himself. Draco had seemed overly fond of Snape. The thought of this new piece of the puzzle in his life seemed completely wrong to his own way of thinking but the piece did fit. Snape must have been long in his plan weaving the pieces ever so slowly so that each piece willfully took its position into the picture that was now forming in his own mind. "Yes, yes, that was very clever of you Severus. Get to my wife through my son and then get my son through my wife." And then another piece of the puzzle slid into place for him. His team, his group, his Death Eaters had always been of the best until…, until Snape started whispering in the Dark Lords ear, then all that was given to him were imbeciles who couldn't follow orders, who couldn't even catch a cold if they had already had one. "But my Bella…," and he smiled warmly now, "She fought well, and would have protected my back had that Potter brat not distracted her and forced her away from me. It had to have been Snape that sent those blasted fools to thwart me." And again he swore with vehemence and yet another piece of the puzzle took shape and fitted neatly into the picture that had formed in his minds eye.

Draco had to be the fulcrum, the pivotal point to make this masterful plan happen. Though Lucius doubted that Draco was a willful part in this plan it was plan to see that he was a participating pawn. His son was no fool and if he could have figured this out in just one nights sitting…, Draco had four years now to see what was happening and Lucius had to wonder how Draco could not see what was going on unless he was a participant in its making. "But that fool of a woman coddled him and thwarted his training saying that he was too young." Lucius had said to himself, trying to find a way to excuse his son, to absolve him from being a part of this treachery. "But how does Draco fit into all of this?" This was the one piece of the puzzle that Lucius could not divine. He marveled at how all of the other pieces formed of their own accord and began placing themselves into the big picture, at how easily the next piece produced itself after the last took its place into the picture. The flow of images seemed to avoid his part in all of this and it left Lucius confused.

Weariness was again enveloping him as he rested his back against the wall inside the the makeshift alcove. He did feel the need to close his eyes as his body began its complaints against the pace that he had set for the days trek. The chill in the wind had cooled his body down and his muscles began to tighten though there was no dampness in the air which he did give small thanks for that. Lucius drew his knees up and crossed his arms about them so that he could rest his head and within minutes he was fast asleep hidden in the blackness of the night while the wind masked the rhythm of his breathing.

The night was remarkably calm for the Blue Mountains, but also remarkably true to its nature as well. Lucius Malfoy had finally drifted off to sleep only to be awaken less than an hour later by a deep rolling thunder that broke into a ground shaking boom followed by flashes of lightening so bright, as to turn the night brighter than day. Lucius was on his feet instantly with wand in hand prepared for battle. His eyes strained to pierce the blackness of the night only to be blinded with the brightness of lightening which infuriated him. Stepping from his concealment he was immediately pelted with rain that fell hard enough to sting the skin but he used this to cool his nerve so that he could assess what was happening. After a few moment he had satisfied himself that it was only a storm and turned to retreat to the safety of the small alcove. The wind picked up its intensity whistling thought the boulders and trees to a near deafening roar.

The intensity of this storm startled him as he had not seen one that would suddenly appear from such mild weather but this was the nature of the mountains and he was unfamiliar with the treacherous conditions in this area. Still alarmed and his senses for danger now heightened, he settled himself back down huddled in his cloak and closed his eyes just as a flash of lightening lit the nights sky one more time. Had he been looking he would have seen the man who was standing there looking at him, measuring him, gauging if he should allow him to live yet another day. Lucius opened his eye's one more time and saw nothing but blackness and fell back asleep.