Chapter 25
Disclaimer: I only own this plot and character adaptations. Sorry.
"If this was a story, I would tell you about a bright, brilliant, happy boy that turned evil when something terrible happened; say the one he loved died, perhaps killed by Muggles, so he began to hate them. But this is not a story. So instead I will tell the story of a withdrawn, introverted, alarmingly quiet boy that was cunning but had little drive, and so did nothing with it."
James gave him a doubtful look. "Mhm. So this little shy kid turned into a vicious killing machine that murdered about thirty people. Right."
Jack smiled softly. "How do you know he was a vicious killing machine?"
The spectacled boy's look turned to one of incredulity. "Did I mention the thirty-odd murders? Besides, the Prophet-" He winced. "Okay, bad example. But books and newspapers and things seem to reflect it."
"History is written by the winning side," Jack quipped, eyes twinkling.
James arched a brow. "You know Churchill?"
Jack imitated him. "You recognized it?"
Smirking, James replied, "You said it wrong. It's 'History is written by the victors.'"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Mine sounds better, so I honestly don't really care all that much."
Laughing, James gestured for him to continue. "Anyway..."
"Right." Brows drawn together, eyes hardened into opaque, impenetrable orbs, chest tightened, and a small, frozen smile fixed to his face, Jack began the story of Alexander Dussault.
"I suppose that first I should tell you what he looked like. He was my height, perhaps a little shorter. He..." Jack smiled softly, remembering the bright-eyed boy quick to retort when someone teased or insulted him. "He had short-cropped jet-black hair, bright, piercing blue eyes, and freckles. He had a traditional Italian complexion, a bit darker than mine of course. He had this smile that he only gave when he was about to do something stupid..." Jack trailed off with a reminiscing grin. "He could charm your socks off if he tried. Which he did.
"So why the hell did he go on a bloody killing spree, I'm sure you're wondering? Well, the truth is I don't know." Jack shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. Maybe it was Emily. Maybe it was greed, or hate or jealousy or fear or a good-intentioned mistake, hell if I know."
James had been fixated on one comment Jack had made for the entire rest of the conversation, and finally spoke up. "So what do you mean, 'If I hadn't been so cowardly'?"
Jack's expression soured. "Oh. Right." He ran a hand through his hair and rested his forehead on cool stone. "Well, three summers ago, Alex came around my place. Oh, and I forgot to mention he's-or rather, was-a few years older than me. It's not like he was killing in between classes. But yeah, one day I heard the doorbell and there he was, in all his Death Eater glory. What really scared me was that he himself seemed frightened." Jack shook his head. "He was never frightened without good reason. I asked him what was wrong, and I'll never forget his answer." Jack's stare was aimed at the sky, but his eyes were somewhere else, a small blue house in Massachusetts, where a young, scared boy in heavy black robes stood at the door. "He said that Voldemort would use him as an attack dog. As some kind of enslaved beast that attacked, tortured, or killed whoever Voldemort ordered him to, that he would be used like a stepping stone to achieve Voldemort's ultimate goal, though what that was he didn't know. He asked me to come with him, to run and never be found. We could do it, we knew we could. We'd planned things like it before." He swallowed heavily. "I said no. Said he'd gone mad, if he thought I would help any Death Eater, and to tell Voldemort I said so, damned if I was going to die because of it. He got angry. Really, really angry, more angry than I'd ever seen him. He said that he would imagine every life he severed to be mine," Here Jack winced. "And then he left."
He glanced up, heaved a breath, and smiled joylessly. "There. Now you're caught up."
OKAY SO I KNOW I DIDN'T UPDATE AT ALL LAST WEEK BUT IM GONNA UPDATE TWICE NEXT WEEK SO IT WILL ALL EVEN OUT PLEASE DONT KILL ME- phew. That was a mouthful. Anyway, you get the point. Next week will be good. Probably.
Peanutbutter Jam (Guest): So just a quick little reply because I didn't want to wait until next week; I'm doing Emily's, Alex's and possibly a bit of Jack's because they are/will be important elements to the story. I just think you'll be able to better understand motives and why things are the way they are like this, and plus I just think you'd like to know more about the characters. But yeah, these two backstories exist mostly because they will be VERY important later. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering it's still February at Hogwarts.
~~~J, a friend. "Sanctissimi cordis, quam acerrimi animi!"