A/N
Weekly updates. Sorry. DX
Ahhh! A cliffhanger??! Yeah. I went there :P I'm surprised you all commented about it XD
I felt something being pulled away from me, much different from any other time I had been in the presence of such a creature. I was left alone to memories, horrid memories. Though, they were not ones of my own, ones of the past, but a terrible alternate reality.
Draco was much older before my eyes, kneeling at the feet of the Dark Lord. His head slightly tilted, daring to look up at his leader.
"Draco, my faithful servant, you have served me well." Voldemort swept his arm out, indicating heap of bodies piled at the floor. I found myself standing next to Draco. Part of the scene myself, I squinted to identify those poor souls that lost their lives.
All I could see was white and red, a sight that gave my stomach quite a lurch.
"It is an honor to serve." Draco's voice was changed, matured with age, stronger, and much more confident.
Cautiously, I took a step around the boy, toward the lifeless bodies. Shaking, I kneeled down next to one. A chill ran down my spine as I reached out to turn it over. It was nothing compared to the sinking feeling I felt within my soul when I saw the face of the corpse.
"Narcissa and Lucius were becoming quite an interference, Draco. Though, it must have been quite hard to do such a thing to your own parents."
"They opposed you, my Lord. We shan't let anything stand in the way of your triumph." There was no trace of remorse whatsoever in the boy's voice. Yet, it seemed to gush and overflow with pride.
"You have served me most excellently, Draco. Come now, you and I have much to discuss… I've decided to make you my….how shall I put it? My most honored servant."
There was a malicious smile in Voldemort's voice.
The clammy feel of Lucius' corpse before me began to overwhelm me. The scent of blood penetrated my sense of smell, and the bile rose in my throat. I wanted to run from the fallen bodies of the Malfoys. I wanted to leave this room, wherever I was…. Yet fear kept me in place. Would they see me? Would they kill me if I moved again?
Draco's eyes narrowed at the Dark Lord.
"Most honored? A position currently held by Severus Snape, isn't it?"
"Yes, Draco." Voldemort put an arm around the younger man. "But I'm quite certain you can take care of that."
The corners of Draco's lips twitched back without emotion, as though his body was smiling, though he was too devoid of emotion to do it in actuality. It was an action I knew all too well, one that I had seen Severus perform time and time again.
"Kill the old Potions Master? My Lord, you couldn't have tempted me more…"
"NO!" I screamed, lunging for Draco. In my lunge, the world around me evaporated, and suddenly I was back in Azkaban, the bars of the prison cell pressing into my back. The dementors were all around me, and Lucius, who was off to the side of the cell, was screaming relentlessly. The dementors were very careful not to get too close to him, though why, I was unsure.
"Show them the Mark, idiot girl! Show them the Mark!"
My eyes flickered back to him, and I noticed his left sleeve was rolled far up to his shoulder, exposing his Dark Mark. Taking this as an example, I, too, rolled up my left sleeve and brandished the Mark to the Death Eaters.
"Leave me be!" I yelled.
The effects were instantaneous. Instantly, the dementors shrunk back, and began to float away. If they were so obedient, perhaps they would do me one other favor.
"Wait." I demanded. "One of you, free him."
One of the dementors did, indeed turn around. With one swift passing hand over the lock on the cell, the door opened, and Lucius was free. He stumbled out on legs he had hardly used for a long time, looking quite like he was ready to keel over. I extended an arm, allowing him to lean on me.
"We've got to get out of here, and we must be quick about it. The guards were running up and down the corridor looking for you."
The dementor who had released him began to turn away again. Surely, if they could open the bars of the cell, they could do away with those on the window. Lucius and I could fly to our freedom.
"Stop!" I pointed to the window, of Lucius' cell behind me. "Open that window."
The dementor turned back, but only for a brief second. There was a loud clang, and the bars on the window fell to the concrete floor. Without a second glance back at the dementor, I lugged Lucius along to the window, mounting my broomstick and pulling him on.
"Surely you remember how to ride a broomstick." I said as the flaxen-haired man clumsily straddled the wooden post.
Hunching quite low to the stick, I began to push off the ground. The broom was having a bit of trouble getting off into the air with the extra weight, yet as I continued to urgently get the broom to elevate, I was suddenly thrust into the air. Confused, annoyed, and presuming that Lucius had something to do with it, I turned back to yell at him. He was in no position to interfere with how I was freeing him. We would do things my way. If he didn't like it, he could take it up with me when we returned to his estate.
When I turned around to give Lucius this piece of my mind, I was indeed astonished to find him standing on the ground, a short distance behind me, in the grasp of a guard. A familiar guard…that same guard that had nearly captured me earlier. I couldn't hesitate as I had before. There was no room for any errors whatsoever at this point. Lucius and I were too close to freedom, and Draco, I felt, was running out of time.
I spun my broom around to face him, wand at the ready.
"Lucinda, don't do this," Remus warned.
"I have no choice, Remus. Now, unhand him." I felt my knuckles turning red, then white around their tight grip on the wand.
"Lucinda, stop. Don't do anything foolish." Lucius began to call out, some sort of devious plan that had come to his mind, one that he felt he needed to inform me of right away. Before he could formulate a single word, Remus moved his hand up to cover the man's mouth.
Lucius did not take very kindly to being silenced. His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, and he bit down hard on Remus' hand. A trained Azkaban guard was prepared to handle any sort of hex or dangerous curse cast his way. They were skilled in the art of defense, yet I was quite certain one was not sure how to react to being bitten. A startled Remus pulled back his hand. In that one second of relaxed control, Lucius managed to escape, and hurried back to his spot on my broom.
As I expected, Remus' distraction and surprise was short-lived. In no time, his wand was out, pointing at the both of us.
"Lucinda, don't make me hurt you. You know I don't want to, but I'll do it if I must." In the dim light of the prison, I could just make out a slight shake of his wrist, a quiver of his hand.
"The fool is nervous." Lucius whispered in my ear. "He shall not harm you for the past you shared. Be cruel. Do not let him think you have remorse for what you are, for your cause."
Irritating as it was to have Lucius, in his panic and frenzy, try to direct my actions, his words were a bit helpful. If I showed him any sign that I felt bad for what I was doing, for what I was about to do, he would show me more mercy than mercy would allow. He would spare me too much, coax and persuade me out of what I was sent to do, and what I sent myself to do.
"Remus, I would provide you with the same advise. I shall hurt you if I must. Do not stand in my way."
He did not waver, and continued to point his wand firmly at me.
"Do not fool yourself into thinking that I will show you the same ridiculous sort of mercy with which you will grant me. I am leaving here with Lucius, or I shall die. If you are the only thing standing in the way of what I must do, I will send you down without a second thought."
Remus flinched at my words, but tried to remain strong.
"If only we could talk about it for a moment, I'm sure-"
"There is nothing to talk about, Remus. Lower your wand."
He looked up at me through ruffled hair for a brief moment, then sighed and placed his wand gingerly on the ground. He stood back up slowly, never once taking his eyes from me.
"There. It's down. Lucinda, I don't understand why you are doing this. What am I standing in the way of? Talk to me."
"I'm sorry. But I really can't have you interfering with my plans. I know the second I turn my back, you'll try to follow me. I can't afford to have you botch this all up."
Remus looked puzzled, as though his attempts at peace should have been satisfactory enough for me. He opened his mouth to say something, no doubt to protest my claim that he would interfere with my plans. He was taking up my time, and becoming an annoying nuisance.
"Stupefy!" The jet of light streamed from my wand and to his body, just as it had done earlier. It seemed a bit tiresome to continue to use the same spell on him, yet I wasn't going to risk an unforgivable like the Imperius curse…and I certainly had no intention of killing him.
I couldn't help but look at the pained expression on his face. I sympathized. It pained me to do such a thing to him. Never did I imagine I would be using spells such as these on a former friend.
Lucius' impatient tugging on my sleeve brought me back to reality. I couldn't waste my time staring at him. Someone would come along and lift the hex. And it would wear off. It would take a very long while, but it would wear off eventually.
As quickly as I could, I flipped the broom back around to the window and, ducking as lowly as we could, Lucius and I fit ourselves through the window. We flew high over the ocean, zooming as fast as the broom would allow.
The shoreline arrived sooner than it had during my trip toward Azkaban. No one had begun to pursue us, yet. No one knew where we were headed. No one had even gotten a good enough look at me to determine who was creating chaos within the prison. Lucius and I were silent the entire way to this point. Feeling very good that my chances of being captured were low, I decided to test Lucius to see how he felt about Draco.
There was something that I had never really considered in all my life. When referring to Lucius and Narcissa as a couple, I viewed them as one unite. They had the same thoughts, same feelings, and same opinions. Oh, how very wrong I was.
"So, Lucius, despite your being in Azkaban, you must have heard about Draco, and what he must do."
"Naturally. I am his father. They have kept me up to date about these things." He said nonchalantly, as though Draco were merely being asked to tame a hippogriff. His indifference reminded me of his corpse, and that of his wife, lifeless on the ground. Dead at the hands of his own son. Yes, his indifference sent a pick of ice through my heart.
"Surely you're concerned! After all, Draco is merely a boy." I tried to hide the blatant astonishment in my voice.
"A boy, soon to become a man. He is doing what is in the best interest for his family. He has only to kill Dumbledore, then all will be forgiven. The Malfoy name will rise once more."
I shifted my head back a little to see him.
"Are you mad?" Rage coursed through my veins. Of course, he had not seen what I had. He did not know the monster Draco would turn into if he carried out this mission. "He's just a boy. You'd really have him kill someone for redemption?"
"It is more than redemption," Lucius stated simply. "It is about honor."
Lucius, as always, was set in his ways. I would hate to be the bearer of bad news, that I might be the one to take the 'honor' from the Malfoys. He might allow Draco to mark his soul, but I certainly wouldn't allow it. Did I dare tell Lucius this? No. It would be better to remain silent. My words would only infuriate him. Let it come as a surprise. His ignorance would definitely call for it.
London twinkled below us now, the sun rising in the horizon just beyond it. Far down, on the ground, I could make out the small shapes of Muggles, beginning their day. Nothing had gone wrong in the day so far. Each one would wake up, perfection a potential, still available to those that manage to catch it. No one had escaped from any prisons today, least of all any wizard prisons. The only ones any wiser were the Prime Minister and, of course, the Ministry of Magic.
Looking down upon the buildings, I tried to imagine hundreds of witches and wizards within them, bustling in a fury at the news of this escape. They were deciding the best way to notify the public, the best actions to take…. Little did they know the culprit was flying right above them.
It would be best to go a bit higher up. I couldn't risk being spotted by Muggles, of all people.
Behind me, Lucius began his best attempts to make conversation. His pride and self-importance shone through at every end. Within a minute, I found my ears were ringing. With an hour still left before we returned to Malfoy Manor, I could tell it was going to be a very long journey.
When we touched down on the large lawn of Malfoy Manor, Lucius and I were greeted by a very emotional Narcissa and a very angry Severus. Narcissa ran toward Lucius and threw her arms around him, a surprising display of affection, coming from a Malfoy. Severus ran toward me, grabbed me by my elbow, and roughly took me aside.
"What the devil did you think you were doing? Flying away like that, for shame! You could have gotten yourself killed. You didn't even wait to hear the proper instructions."
"Severus, if all you're going to do is berate me, save it for a better time. I have something I need to do."
I tried to move around him, but he sidestepped in front of me. Crossing his arms, he enforced what I already knew too well: he wasn't going anywhere, and he certainly wasn't letting me go anywhere, either. He raised his eyebrows, as if daring me to challenge him.
"What could it be that you need to do so urgently after your mission?"
"That is not really your concern at the moment."
"For the sake of your health, you should at least lay down for a few hours."
"A few hours? I don't have a few hours, Severus. I need to speak the Dark Lord now."
He stared at me for a second before speaking again, annoyance written clearly on his face. Yes, he was annoyed… but there was something else, something quite indescribable. Could it be guilt?
"Does this pertain to what I think it does?"
"That all depends on what you're thinking." I made an effort to lower my voice by a significant amount, not wanting Lucius to overhear. Merlin knows he seemed particularly defensive of the so-called 'honor' to kill Albus Dumbledore.
"Lucinda, take my word, it can wait. You will find that there is no great rush."
"Severus, as long as it must happen, I will be in a great rush."
"Please just have a seat. Let me have one of the House Elves fetch you something to drink. I will explain everything to you."
He tried to take my arm, gently now, and guide me to a chair. But I resisted. I dared not move until he told me all that was meant to be said. By now, we were speaking in whispers so harsh, I could barely make out what it was he was saying. Narcissa's high-pitched sobs dominated the sound waves of the open lawn. It was an incoherent cluster of cries and words, the only one of which I could make out was 'Draco'.
"I have no need to wait, Severus. You can tell me now, certainly."
Severus' eyes flickered to Lucius for a brief second, then back to me. I tried to discern any sort of secret from them, yet their blackness secured this information away from me. What good was trying to read the expression of someone's eyes when you could not tell iris from pupil?
Again, he tried to guide me away from the Malfoys, back toward the house. His actions were more violent, as they had been when he initially approached me. He attempted to shove me forward. Then, digging his nails into my arm, he made his best effort to drag me away.
"Severus, please!" I gasped, unwelcoming of the pain he had inflicted upon me.
Yet, it seemed that I had inflicted some on him as well. He winced as I said those words, and quickly released me. Was it my tone? Had I startled him? Once again, I tried to peer into his eyes, to find some sort of sign of what he was thinking of feeling. Something was wrong, to be certain.
I gazed intently at him, but he immediately lowered his gaze. If he would not show me his eyes, so be it. There was emotion plain enough in his face, and in the way he was carrying himself now. It had not been my tone. It would not have elicited such a reaction from him. Something I said had to have upset him.
"Come away to the house. I shall explain it all to you there."
"Severus, please." He flinched once more as I repeated the words, whispered now. "What's happened?"
"SEVERUS DID IT! HE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!"
Narcissa let out a devastating wail. Sorrowful, yet laden with relief. She could barely stand now, and Lucius was holding her up with all his strength. He promptly lowered his wife to the grass, and then angrily made his way to Severus.
I felt as though my blood had been replaced by ice. Dumbledore couldn't be dead, could he? Wouldn't I have felt it? Dumbledore, dead. And at Severus' hands. It was devastating, to know that one of the greatest wizards that had ever lived was no longer living. Hard to imagine someone so caring and wise to have come to an end by the hands of a child….no….not a child…. Severus.
Severus.
Ice quickly melted into fire, pumping through my heart and igniting my entire body.
Within seconds, both Lucius and myself were sticking our faces in front of Severus', eyes ablaze, adrenaline and rage the only things we could feel.
"Severus? You dare undermine the honor that was granted to my son?" Lucius' pale face was red now, and I imagined my own to be of a similar shade.
"You dare kill the man that acted almost like a father to you when you were young? The man who graciously allowed your treacherous self back into Hogwarts?"
Severus chose to ignore my comment, instead focusing the force of his rebuttal to the enraged man.
"Draco was not capable of carrying out the action he was requested." He said simply, not looking him in the eye.
"You have no right to make that judgment. Surely, you just did not give him a chance to do the deed. You wanted the honor for yourself! Being a most trusted Death Eater and spy not good enough for you? Had to cement your place as right-hand man?" In the force of an action, Severus now looked Lucius in the eye. His hooked nose was touching the tip of Lucius' thin one. The blonde Death Eater's grip around Severus' neck tightened, and it was not long before Narcissa threw him at his feet, begging him to stop.
If Severus felt any fear whatsoever, he did not show it.
"Draco was in no condition to kill Dumbledore. He had more than enough opportunity to do so before I arrived. That werewolf Fenrir and your sister-in-law can attest to this. Your son only succeeded in disarming the headmaster. The others looked to me to extinguish Dumbledore's life in place of your son."
Much as Narcissa tried to tell her husband that this was the truth, he refused to believe it. Convinced of the falsehood of Severus' tale, Lucius demanded his wife's wand, wanting to use it to punish the offender.
Angry with Severus myself, yet not wanting him to die…at least..not until I had my few words to say to him… I interjected between the two men.
"Lucius, there is a simple way in which we can resolve this problem. Why not get Bellatrix or Fenrir out here? Surely one might disprove or bear truth to this story."
Forcefully, Lucius relinquished his hold on Severus' throat. The Potions Master was sent stumbling backward. A defensive instinct within me prompted me to catch him, to steady him so that he did not fall back. I shook it off. If he were to step back and trip over a root, it would be the least of what he would deserve. Snape, of all people, had no right to kill Albus Dumbledore. No other wizard in this world was qualified to end the life of one who had his very own chocolate frog card, to say the least.
"Narcissa, run along and fetch your sister, then." Lucius directed, surprisingly calm for one that had been so riled only a few moments ago. Perhaps he was not so poised and refined as I had suspected him to be. I certainly seemed more capable of repressing my rage than he did…
Narcissa quickly got to her feet and stormed off into the house. She returned a few minutes later with a very annoyed looking Bellatrix.
"Lucius!" She called as she made her way over to us all. "Do you really find it so hard to accept that your perfect son was unable to kill Dumbledore?" She crossed her arms.
"Draco is more than capable!"
"Your arrogance continues to amaze me even to this day. Your son was very troubled at the prospect of killing Dumbledore. Someone had to do it, and Severus did. He was the best replacement."
"He had no right to take the honor away from Draco!" Lucius yelled, anger showing itself again.
"Draco did not seem to have any intention of carrying out what he was asked, despite our prompting. If my words have no bearing on your disposition, then I suggest you find Harry Potter. He bore witness to the whole incident."
Lucius clenched and unclenched his fists by his sides. His anger was changed. He seemed to accept what Severus and Bellatrix had told him as truth, though he was indeed having trouble accepting it.
Narcissa, thinking it would be best for Lucius to go into the house in order to get a grip on himself, to recompose himself, took her husband by the arm and gently lead him to the house. He allowed her to steer him away this time. Bellatrix remained with us this time, looking down at the grass, she bit the inside of her cheek. After a few moments, she heaved an irritated sigh and turned after them.
Severus and I were left alone. I peered up at him, though he continued to avoid my gaze.
"I realize that you are a Death Eater, and are thus bound to serve the will of the Dark Lord, but do you suppose you might have some sort of decency?"
"There was no choice." He did not lift his eyes, but his head seemed to droop, as though he himself were wilting. "If the deed remained unfinished, Draco would have been punished, along with the Malfoy name tenfold. To think, two failures from the same serving family!"
"But it didn't have to be you. Are you really so heartless?" I felt tears brimming at the edge of my eyes, the full weight of Dumbledore's death coming to me in a terrible blast. Thinking on it now, certainly I could not have been the one to kill him.
"This issue had deeper plans than you yourself are even aware of."
"Don't lie to me, Severus!"
"Why is it whenever you are presented with something you disagree with, something your logic finds fallible, you presume to think I am lying?" His voice was quieted, almost sorrowful.
"You've already done it before. Nothing would stop you from doing it now."
He dared to look me in the eye now.
"This day was planned a year ago. Dumbledore and I had an agreement."
This infuriated me beyond belief. How could he presume to think I would believe such rubbish? After making no attempt to deny that he frivolously lied to me, he had the nerve to tell me he had collaborated the murder with the victim himself?
Severus had made attempts to make me seem ridiculous in the past, but this was, of them all, the worst attempt yet. Not even half so believable as the concept of his loving me was that he sat down with the greatest contemporary wizard to plot his demise. A Death Eater would never even go about corresponding with his victim. They were all action, cut the fat away out of any situation, and this was how they engaged. Severus was a traitor, a treasonous wretch. He was no different from any other serpentine scum under Voldemort.
I threw my hand back, then forward, connecting it with the side of his face. When I removed palm from his cheek, there was a large handprint, nearly welted into his skin. That, surely, was least of what he deserved. I let out a frustrated yell, then stormed off, walking right past the entrance of Malfoy Manor, and around the back.
Snape, of all people, had no right to kill Albus Dumbledore. And poor Harry Potter! What a terrible thing to have one of your own mentors murdered right before your eyes. Of course, Severus was a master at surprising us all.
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