A/N: Wow, thank you to everyone who reviewed! Unfortunately I simply don't have the time to reply to them anymore (unless you don't mind later updates, because my writing time is extremely limited these days), but I do read all of them, and find them very helpful! Enjoy this chapter~
"Lily, honestly, lighten up. It's nearly Christmas and all you can think about is Snape!"
With tears streaming down her cheeks as she gazed out at the snow-covered streets and Muggle passersby, Lily shook her head.
"It's not him…it's just—"
"Him," Laika and Narcissa said in unison, looking a little disgusted by the fact that Lily was still friends with Severus.
Lily looked away from the window and hastily wiped away a stray tear. Narcissa was right, Christmas was tomorrow, and she couldn't spend her entire holiday moping over Severus. There was no way she could get back to Hogwarts now, so she may as well make the best of her time her at Sirius and Regulus' home at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
The Black family always spent its family holidays here, and they had been gracious enough to allow Laika and Lily to join them as well. Festivities were solemn affairs here, nothing like the wild Christmas parties the Evans used to attend with their friends and neighbours.
Although she had Laika and Narcissa around to keep her company, Lily was really hoping to spend more time with Regulus over the winter break. Until he fell ill, that is. He didn't look too good from the moment he set foot on the train home and by the time the five kids— including Sirius— reached their destination, Regulus could barely walk. A healer from St. Mungo's was immediately summoned, and after several doses of healing potions, Regulus was declared healthy enough to remain at home for the remainder of the holidays. He wasn't allowed outside of his room, however, and Lily was only permitted to visit him for a few minutes a day. It was frustrating for both of them, particularly Regulus, who had to deal with his older brother's relentless teasing.
"SIRIUS GET OUT!"
The three girls jumped to their feet as a magnificent crash rattled the entire house, scattering decades' worth of dust all over their heads and clothes. Somewhere up on the third floor, Regulus and Sirius were having a rather violent shouting match. Lily couldn't believe some of the things that were coming out of Sirius' mouth, though they may as well have been from Regulus, since the two brothers sounded exactly the same.
The elder Black family members were not pleased by this, and Lily not surprised to hear them muttering on how it was probably Sirius causing all this chaos. She didn't blame them: Sirius was almost as bad as Potter: even though Regulus was very sick, the only task on Sirius' agenda was to pester him more than ever before.
There was another bang— this time, it was from the work of a wand— and a yelp of pain, obviously coming from Sirius. Within seconds, he was being dragged down the stairs by his ancient, though astonishingly strong grandmother. Lily muffled a giggle: old Mrs. Black was tugging him by the ear without a single thought as to whether it hurt him or not.
Finally, someone who can control that git, Lily mused, feeling sorrier for Regulus the longer she was around his brother.
Somewhere in the midst of all the shouting adults and the infuriated cursing from Sirius, there was a quiet knock at the door. Just as though time itself had stopped, the entire Black family suddenly fell silent, except for Sirius of course, who only quieted after his mum slapped him rather harshly across the face.
Bellatrix, whom had been watching the chaotic madness with bored disinterest, answered the door first.
"Well, well, well…this is certainly a surprise," Bellatrix hissed, sounding more angry than surprised to see their new visitor.
Seeing who it was, Lily didn't blame her: it was Lucius Malfoy. Although he had only left Hogwarts a couple of weeks ago, he looked as though he had aged ten years since Lily had last seen him. He was paler than a ghost, and his flesh desperately clung to his bones from lack of food. Lily had to wonder if he had eaten anything since his departure from school, because she had seen starving mutts look healthier than Lucius did.
"Lucius!" Laika excitedly leaped to her feet and flung her arms around her unsuspecting brother. The Blacks immediately welcomed him inside— despite Bellatrix's protests— and he somehow made it into the dining room before slumping over in exhaustion.
Lily could see Narcissa watching him fretfully from the corner of her eyes, but neither of them greeted Lucius as he came in. They simply watched the skeleton of a boy make his way through the masses of adults and gratefully accept a bowl of soup from the creepy little house elf, Kreacher.
Lucius caught Lily's eye for a mere second, smiled grimly, then looked away. Fury coursed through her at once. After all that he had done to her; he still had the nerve to be in her presence without even the slightest apology? Did he honestly believe that she still trusted him?
It was maddening. The only person who could possibly understand how she was feeling was Bellatrix, but Lily didn't exactly find it easy talking to the older girl, so she decided to remain silent as Laika returned to their corner and babbled on about how wonderful her brother was.
I miss Sev, Lily though miserably, remembering how much he hated Lucius. At least he's probably enjoying himself…
xXxXxXxXx
Knock. Knock.
Sirius' eyes fluttered open at once, thinking it was morning but was disappointed to see it was still completely dark outside. It was nearly midnight; Christmas was just ten minutes away, and someone had the nerve to wake him up.
If that's Reg, I'm going to kill him, Sirius thought furiously as he pulled a soft maroon blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep. Whoever had knocked on his door could wait until morning. Just as he squeezed his eyelids shut, he heard muffled whispers outside of his door. One was definitely a girl's voice, and she did not sound very happy.
Intrigued, Sirius slid out of bed and onto the floor, crawling his way to the other side of the room. He could vaguely see the girl's outline from the moonlight that filtered through the hallway windows: it was Bellatrix. She had not knocked on his door as Sirius had initially believed, but the one to the left of him. The door to the right was Regulus' bedroom, Sirius' was in the middle, and the guest bedroom in which Lucius and Laika were staying was the left door.
"What do you want?" Bellatrix whispered impatiently, completely unaware that there was an eavesdropper present.
Lucius stepped out into the hallway and shut the door behind him. "Follow me," he whispered. Sirius pressed his eye up to the peephole, but shadows soon engulfed Lucius and Bellatrix as they walked down the hallway until he could only see their faint figures.
It took him all of two seconds to decide what to do.
"Wand…wand…where's my wand…?" Sirius muttered as he threw all the bed covers off and shuffled around the sheets before finally locating his wand under his pillow. In his excitement, he flew at the door and slammed into it, falling backwards onto the floor with an explosive crash. He swore under his breath, reminding himself that doors must be opened if one wishes to go through them. He sat up against the door for a couple of minutes, trying to catch his breath and give Bellatrix and Lucius the impression that Kreacher was just being an idiot again.
Finally, when he felt it was safe to leave, Sirius carefully opened the door and peeked out. Nobody was around as far as he could see.
"Lumos."
Bella and Lucius have to be around here somewhere, he thought, feeling a rush of adrenaline surge through him as he tiptoed along the creepy hallways of the place he called home. Whatever they were talking about, it had to be important, otherwise, why would they choose to meet up at such a late hour? Sirius knew they'd have their wands with them, and even though Bellatrix would probably hex him until he was nearly paralyzed if he was caught, Sirius marched on.
He passed by the guest room in which Lily and Narcissa were sleeping under Slytherin-themed bedding. If he had not already been on a mission to discover what his cousin and the Malfoy creep were up to, he would have gone in and messed with their belongings, but alas, he had more important things to attend to.
There was a soft light coming from one of the rooms at the end of the hallway. Sirius immediately quickened his pace and crept outside of the empty room in which nobody had used for years after his great-great-grandfather fatally poisoned himself in there.
"What do you want?" Bellatrix demanded, sounding extremely irritable.
"Look," Lucius whispered. Bellatrix nearly shrieked, but was instantly muffled by Lucius' hand.
Sirius could not see inside, but his heart pounded against his chest as he wondered what Lucius had shown her. Judging from Bellatrix's reaction, it was something shocking. Naturally, Sirius wanted to know what it was…
"But…how?! Why you?!"
Sirius could have sworn he heard a twinge of jealousy in his cousin's voice…
"I've proven myself worthy," Lucius replied harshly. "Which is more than what I can say for you…tell me, how is Defense Against the Dark Arts going?"
Bellatrix was silent. Sirius could practically feel her fury radiating through the walls of the room. Was Lucius actually mocking her for her failure to get expelled as he had?
Sirius inched his way closer to the crack in the door, hoping to get a glimpse at something.
"Try as you might, Bellatrix, you just can't—"
"Shut it!" Bellatrix screeched as she suddenly flicked her wand at the door, revealing Sirius at once.
He stared at the two for several seconds, unable to believe that someone as sneaky and clever as himself had been caught. How Bella knew he was back there, he couldn't say. Perhaps it was that freakish intuition she possessed. He looked down towards Lucius, who still had his left sleeve rolled up. There was a dark black mark burned into his skin on the forearm. It looked like a skull with a snake's tongue, but Sirius only saw it for a moment, as Lucius immediately yanked the sleeve down.
"Why…come in, Sirius," Bellatrix whispered icily. When Sirius didn't move, she whipped him inside with another flick of the wand and the door slammed noiselessly behind him.
Sirius wasn't scared at all. He knew he should be, especially of Bellatrix, but he felt oddly calm. He had grown up in a house of Dark Arts-obsessed people, and these two weren't any different.
"Sorry to interrupt…I thought you were Santa," he joked. "Nice tattoo, by the way," he added, nodding to Lucius. "Have you got one too, Bella?"
Bellatrix looked livid, but couldn't find words to answer him. Sirius forced himself to suppress a grin, knowing he had struck a nerve.
"Get out!" Lucius snarled at him, pointing his wand threateningly at Sirius' forehead.
Still unable to control himself, Sirius smiled. "Excuse me mate, I thought this was my house."
That did it. Bellatrix lost it and flung him out of the room sooner than Sirius could even raise his wand in defence. Sirius landed hard on his back and tumbled down the short staircase that led to the main hallway.
"Fine!" Sirius growled from the other side of the door. He had seen enough anyway…
xXxXxXxXx
"Hey Severus…you've got an owl."
Severus looked up from his desk and sighed. It couldn't possibly be Lily. She was so mad at him that she hadn't even written to wish him a happy Christmas this year. Christmas was three days ago, and it was the worst one Severus had ever celebrated. Sure, it was nice knowing that he had at least one friend that still liked him, but as much as he hated to admit it, he missed James and Sirius' hijinks. Remus was quiet and well, sane, but the days seemed to drag by without those two around.
Aside from eating lunch, Severus had done nothing but sleep on Christmas. He hadn't been sick or tired really, he was just feeling a little depressed about his last conversation with Lily.
"What is it?" he asked glumly, praying that the message was from his mother, saying that his father had been arrested or killed.
"It's from…Sirius."
"What?!" Severus jumped up and snatched the letter out of Remus' hand. He quickly scanned through the letter, then handed it to his friend.
"I knew it…I knew it…" Severus muttered.
Remus threw the letter on the desk and sat across from him. "So Malfoy's really gone and done it? You really think Sirius was telling the truth?"
"I don't think anyone would lie about this— even Sirius," he added, noticing Remus' skeptical expression. Ignoring the disturbed stares from the other Gryffindors in the common room, Severus began pacing back and forth, trying to piece everything together.
So Lucius Malfoy was now a Death Eater. Sirius claimed to have seen the Dark Mark himself, and apparently Bellatrix Black wasn't a member yet as Severus had initially believed. He knew Malfoy's only goal in life was to join the Dark Lord, but it seemed a little extreme for a mere sixteen year old to gain entry into the elite group of Dark wizards. Something he had done must have proven his worth to them, but what? Severus paced more furiously still, trying to reason this out. Suddenly, he stopped.
"You don't think Malfoy stole James' cloak, do you?" he asked slowly. "I heard he got expelled for thievery…"
Remus frowned. "But it got returned didn't it?"
"Yeah, into my bag! Someone was trying to frame me! It had to be him!"
Remus didn't look convinced. "But how did he get in here? And he was a prefect, do you honestly think he'd try something like breaking into another house's common room?"
"Well…no," Severus admitted. "But it had to be him. He might have had an accomplice…he was a sixth year wasn't he? Then he probably knew how to make a Polyjuice Potion…yes, it all makes sense!"
Severus was disappointed to see that his friend wasn't exactly excited about these revelations as he was.
"I'm sorry; it doesn't really seem possible…even for Malfoy. And if the cloak was returned, then why was he expelled?"
"I don't know! Perhaps he was trying to steal something even more valuable with it?"
Remus laughed and shook his head in defeat. "Severus, you're so determined to hate Malfoy that you're not even making sense."
Severus glared at him. He knew he was right. He had to be. Malfoy had framed him— how, he couldn't say, but that didn't matter at the moment— and this could potentially be evidence for James that would clear Severus' name. He would figure out Malfoy's motivations later…
xXxXxXxXx
Standing before Lord Voldemort was the son of one of his Death Eaters. He was strangely calm, his gaze unfocused and unblinking, despite the luminous moon and shimmering snow around them. He had been under a well-cast Imperius Curse since August, and yet, he had still failed to accomplish the task in which he had been ordered to perform. This did not please Voldemort.
Rather than obliterating the Mudbloods from his precious school, the boy had only managed to mangle one girl to the point where she had to be hospitalized at St. Mungo's. It was a start, but once Voldemort learned of her speedy recovery, he was more than displeased; he was downright livid.
It was time to resort to drastic measures, and, thanks to Lucius Malfoy, it was finally possible to do so.
Voldemort held up his wand and a golden locket embossed in emeralds in the shape of an S. The boy still did not tremble fearfully or fall to his knees, begging for mercy. He waited patiently for his next command, and he would not argue no matter how extreme his master's request might be. There was only one proven method of killing Mudbloods indirectly, and the Dark Lord knew no boundaries...
"Don't worry," Voldemort hissed softly, smiling cruelly as he spoke. "This won't hurt at all."
A/N: You'll find out what Voldemort did eventually...it's pretty gruesome, but I'll save you from all the gory details ;)
Next chapter: a major plot point from the HP series will be used, but it will be entirely different than the way it happened in the books (and it's in Marauder era, instead of HRH era).
Once again, I'd love to hear your comments/speculations/constructive criticism. Thanks for reading! :)