Yes, I'm posting the next chapter so soon after the last one. It's a holiday miracle. This took less time to write than I feared.
A Series of Events
Chapter Twenty-five
The sky grew lighter in increments. The moon had set hours ago and only Venus shone with clarity. Severus loitered by the doors that led out to the Malfoys' gardens, a wine goblet in his hands and a sheltered sorrow in his heart.
Dawn was still hours away, but he had lived through enough long, cold nights of the soul to know the rising sun did not always bring reprieve. He feared this night would last the rest of his haunted, ruined life.
He absentmindedly took another sip of wine, only to gag and choke on the sour, acidic taste. He swallowed it down, suppressing the coughs with the back of his hand.
This, he mused once he scraped the taste off his tongue with his teeth, was the embodiment of the Malfoys' fall from grace. When once they broke the seals of only the most exquisite (and expensive) of imports, they were now reduced to serving swill that was more vinegar than merlot.
Severus had drunk better tasting wine out of a box.
He pursed his lips and gave the wine a sniff before recoiling from the sour, smoky smell. He frowned and glanced at the others as they milled about in the large drawing room. Of the few still on their feet, the Carrows were making the most of the night, wheezing and giggling as they drank straight from the bottles.
Severus sneered. He would never consider them to be any authority when it came to refined taste.
The true experts, however, were the ones to choose the foul refreshment in his hand. The Malfoys huddled together on a plush settee set against the far wall. Lucius, slumped and unkempt, scowled and clenched his hands as Alecto spilled wine onto the rug. Narcissa sat on the other end, back straight and face as pallid and unyielding as ice, though the hand tightly gripping her son's wrist gave more away than she perhaps wished. Bellatrix slunk back and forth, darkly glaring at Severus from time to time. And young Draco, sandwiched between his parents, had spend the last half-hour biting the inside of his mouth; whether to fight off sleep or keep in a scream, Severus could only guess.
As for himself, he was exhausted. He could still smell the smoke clinging to his nose hairs. The fire that had engulfed Hagrid's hut burned bright in his mind's eye. The orange of the flames had reflected off Potter's glasses. It had sparkled off the sweat on the boy's brow as he Cursed Severus in vain.
He tried to rub the stench of smoke off his nose with his fingertips, but it lingered, like the taste of bad wine in the back of his throat.
He placed the goblet of half-drunk wine on a windowsill and stepped out into the chill of early morning. A peacock strutted through the otherwise empty garden, its snow-white tail not quite touching the ground. It suddenly let out a screech and took flight, its tail streaming behind it.
Severus halted in his tracks as the thick, scaled body of Nagini slithered into view, dripping mouth wide as she chased after the bird.
"Severus," The Dark Lord hissed in greeting as he emerged from the shadows. "Are you not enjoying the festivities?"
Severus bowed. "The wine, I admit, is not to my liking, my Lord. And I needed a moment away from the more, um, intoxicated of our number."
"The Carrows?" The Dark Lord gestured for Severus to straighten. "Walk with me."
Severus fell in step behind the Dark Lord, conscious of the giant snake weaving along beside them. They stroll down pebbled paths, past overgrown bushes and weed-choked garden beds.
"The wine was not to your taste, you say?" the Dark Lord said, not glancing behind him.
"It was much too vinegary, my Lord."
The Dark Lord sighed. "With every breath, Lucius and his family disappoint me more and more." They strolled past a bush dotted with tiny white flowers. "The son? As spineless as his father. The sister? A blood traitor. And their niece?" He snapped a budding flower off its branch and crushed it between his fingers.
"The one in love with a werewolf, my Lord?"
"The one in love with a werewolf," the Dark Lord repeated, a thin, reedy laugh escaping his lips. "A werewolf! How utterly disgusting."
"I cannot think of anything more repugnant, my Lord," Severus murmured.
"To think that someone of such supposedly noble blood would sink so low as to fornicate with a beast," the Dark Lord said. He brushed the crushed petals off his fingers. "I hope your future children will not be nearly as disappointing, Severus."
The velvet-wrapped bundle stowed away in his cigarette case came, unwanted, to mind. Severus shoved the thought into the farthest reaches of his mind. "After years of dealing with other people's brats, my Lord, I cannot say I am in a hurry to sire my own."
"Pity," the Dark Lord said.
They walked on. The peafowl scattered and took flight at the sight of them.
The Dark Lord stopped and turned. His red eyes bored into Severus's. "Did he truly beg for his life?"
"Yes, my Lord," Severus said. The Dark Lord stormed into Severus's mind, and Severus gladly showed him the Headmaster's last moments on earth. The green glow of the Dark Mark in the sky had given the old man a sickly pallor as he slumped against the ramparts. His voice had cracked, ever so softly, when he said, "Severus, please."
He let the Dark Lord taste the acid-black hatred that had fueled his Killing Curse. He felt the shudder of pleasure rippling from the Dark Lord as he watched the Headmaster catch the Curse in his chest and his dead body fall into darkness.
The invasion was as brief as a thought. Nagini wound herself around their feet.
"Tell me, Severus," the Dark Lord said, never breaking eye contact. "Will you miss him?"
"Miss Albus Dumbledore?" Severus said. "My Lord, does Prometheus miss the eagle?"
The Dark Lord's mouth thinned into an empty smile. "You think of yourself as Prometheus, Severus?"
"No, my Lord. I only think of myself as a man, finally freed from the daily pecking of an overgrown chicken."
The Dark Lord laughed his high, reedy laugh again. He started back towards the house. Severus followed behind as gracefully as he could, mindful of the snake at his feet.
"I believe I will miss him," the Dark Lord said. "He had dogged my steps and thwarted my plans for so long. I still cannot quite believe he is gone. But with him, the last great barrier is gone, and the Wizarding World is within my grasp."
The Dark Lord raised his wand to one of the fleeing peacocks. "Avada Kedavra." Nagini dashed towards the dead bird. "And Harry Potter," he whispered. "With no great Dumbledore to hide behind. His mother's protection will soon end?"
Harry Potter's last words echoed in Severus's mind. Kill me like you killed him, you coward! He saw the blood on the boy's face. He felt the touch of the boy's hand between his thighs, on his shoulder. Severus gritted his teeth, pushing it all down. "Very soon, my Lord."
Nagini returned, a visible, peacock-sized bump in the middle of her body.
"Then it's only a matter of time," the Dark Lord said. He cooed at his snake, hissing as he petted the top of her head. "Good night, Severus."
Severus bowed. "My Lord," he murmured to his feet. He counted to ten and listened as the Dark Lord walked away.
He straightened slowly. His hand brushed against his cigarette case before pulling it out and helping himself to one of the Mayfairs inside. The smoke tasted moldy and stale, and after a few half-hearted puffs, he dropped the cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with his heel.
He tucked the case away.
Next time: The End.
(Expect the next update in two, three weeks.)