Chapter 29

"I think I figured out what to do about Nagini," Serina mused as she sat on the rug by the fireplace.

Severus was lying down with his head in her lap. He looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. Thanks to Serina, he finally knew about the Horcruxes.

"I'll give him a heart attack," she explained as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Wouldn't the Dark Lord be suspicious if his prized snake keels over from a heart attack?" Severus asked.

"Probably, but if we can kill him in a way that can be traced to a health concern, he will let it go. I can also place the thought that Nagini is sick before we do it."

Severus nodded. "When do you want to proceed?"

"As soon as possible. Do you know where the snake is?"

"I believe it resides with Voldemort in your cousin's home. Now would be a good time, for I know for a fact that Voldemort is not there. He is leading a raid on a Muggle sporting event."

Serina frowned at the possibilities that would bring, but then looked at Severus.

"It seems that we have the perfect opportunity then, unless he took the snake with him," Serina said.

Severus stood. "There's only one way to find out."

Serina followed suit and they exited the cabin and disapparated to Malfoy Manor. Under the pretense of visiting Lucius, they entered the mansion. Severus looked over to Serina quizzically.

"It's upstairs in the bedroom at the end of the hall. No one is around, we can go up safely," she told him.

They headed up the stairs and down the hall. Stopping at the bedroom door, Severus turned to her.

"Can you do it from here?" he asked.

"I think it would work better if we are in the same room," she replied.

Severus nodded and took his wand. He tapped the doorknob and said the opening spell, but nothing happened. The room was heavily warded. Serina grasped his hand and pulled it back. She concentrated on the lock and the wards that surrounded it, seeing each one disappear in succession. Finally the doorknob clicked. Severus raised an eyebrow at her as he grasped the knob and turned it, opening the door. She smiled at him as he opened the door.

They entered the room silently, glancing around. The snake was curled on the floor by the side of the bed. It seemed to be sleeping. Serina silently approached the giant snake. She entered its mind and put it into a deep sleep. Stooping down over it, she placed her hand on the snake and felt its body underneath her hand. She held her breath, waiting for the animal to stir, but it continued to sleep. Serina concentrated on the body of the snake, seeing its internal workings until she came to its heart. Using her mind, she pictured the heart's beating slowing until it stopped completely. She continued to keep her hand on the snake for a little while after that, making sure that the heart would never beat again. After some time, she removed her hand and straightened herself up.

"It's dead," she muttered to Severus.

"Then let us take our leave!" he said tersely.

He took her hand and they headed for the door. Serina caught his arm. "There's someone outside in the hall," she told him.

They both stood stock still as they heard a voice. It was speaking to someone else. The voices approached the door and they could hear a woman muttering the spell to drop the wards. Serina clenched Severus' arm and cast a vanishing charm like the one she had done at the cabin. They both disappeared.

Bellatrix entered followed by a tall man with a mustache. Severus led Serina around them and out the door and down the hall. Suddenly they heard a scream from Bellatrix. She must have discovered that the snake had come to an early demise.

"He will be furious!" Bellatrix screamed. "He will punish us all!"

Serina and Severus quickly descended the stairs, still in their vanished state. They hurried to the study, where they knew Lucius was. Serina made them visible again and they entered and greeted Lucius as if nothing were amiss. Luckily, he had not heard the commotion from upstairs yet.

They were making small talk when suddenly the study door burst open and Bellatrix ran in.

"Nagini is dead!" she cried.

The other three in the room looked at her in shock.

"How?" Lucius asked.

"I don't know. I went in to feed him and saw he was curled up where he always is. I just assumed he was sleeping, so I brought him his food and tried to wake him. He was dead."

"Did you summon the Dark Lord?" Severus asked in a nonchalant manner.

"No! He said not to be disturbed. I don't know what to do! He will be furious either way."

Lucius thought for a moment. "He would want to know about this development as soon as possible." He stretched out his arm and touched his Dark Mark, summoning his Lord.

"I think it is time we took our leave," Severus said to Serina.

She nodded at him. Bellatrix's eyes narrowed at them. "Just what are you two doing here anyway?" she demanded.

"I wanted to visit Lucius," Serina answered. "I don't ever get to see enough of him, and now that I've joined your ranks, I intend to see much more of him." She smiled coyly at her cousin.

Lucius smiled back at her, but Ballatrix wasn't so easily fooled.

"I think it's highly suspicious that you are here right when the Dark Lord's prized pet turns up dead!"

"Bellatrix," Severus said blandly, "we have been here with Lucius since we arrived. I don't think the Dark Lord will be pleased that you are trying to pin this on us. Do you even know if there was foul play involved? You said the snake was curled up as if it was sleeping. I hardly think it would be in that position if someone came in to kill it."

Serina shot the idea to believe Severus into Bellatrix's mind.

Bellatrix's wild look eased a bit. "You're right! Maybe it just was sick. The Dark Lord can't punish us if his snake was sick, can he?" She had a glint of hope in her eyes. "I must find out how the snake died!" She turned and left the room in a hurry.

Severus watched after her and then turned to Lucius. "Sorry to make a short trip out of this, but I do not want to be here when the Dark Lord finds this out. No matter what the reason is for the snake's death, his wrath will be great. You may want to get out of here yourself."

Lucius nodded as he hugged Serina and shook Severus' hand. "That's probably not a bad idea, but I'm afraid he would catch up to me eventually. I'll just remain here out of the way. Maybe he will forget that I'm here."

"Be careful Lucius," Serina warned.

He nodded and smiled at her. "I always am," he replied.

Severus took her arm and they left the room. When they had made their way out of the mansion, they disapparated away, leaving the household to Voldemort's wrath.


They had been summoned later on. In Voldemort's anger he sought out anyone who was in the Mansion that day. Severus and Serina convinced him that they hadn't even gone to the second floor of the Mansion, but had been with Lucius the whole time. He had searched their minds, but had found no deception on their parts.

Voldemort was still furious. His eyes had glinted fire and they knew that anyone found involved in Nagini's death would meet their own quickly. Eventually, he accepted the fact that the snake had just died. Its heart had stopped beating. When he reflected upon it, it had seemed that the snake had been somewhat sickly these past few weeks.


Serina threw herself on the couch in the cabin. She placed her hands over her head and rubbed her temples.

"I really thought we were done for," she remarked to Severus.

He sat down next to her with his arms folded. "I wondered the same myself. If it weren't for your mind powers, he probably would still be searching for that stupid snake's killer."

"I wish we could just kill him ourselves and get this whole thing over with!" Serina complained.

"Our fight will come soon enough. There are only two weeks until Halloween."

She nodded. "It will be here before we know it." Suddenly nervous, she went on. "I need to practice more."

"Shall we go outside and practice then?" Severus said with a calculative grin.

Serina nodded and they both rose and exited the cabin. They took up stances, wands in hand.

"Could you throw a few Imperious curses at me. I have only practiced them once."

Severus nodded and before she could even prepare herself had cast the spell. His imperious felt different than the one Tonks had set on her. Of course it made sense. He had actually used the Imperious curse for real, not just in practice. She felt oddly calm. She heard him tell her to spin around and she actually wanted to. She raised her hands, and then realized what was happening. She willed herself not to obey. Finally the temptation passed.

"What happened? You almost obeyed me."

"I don't know. I've only worked with Tonks and her Imperious wasn't nearly as coercive."

"We need to work on this more then. The more powerful the wizard is the more persuasive is his curse. You need to recognize the desires of the curse caster and separate them from your own desires."

Serina nodded and readied herself for another curse.

Severus raised his wand and chanted the curse. The calmness fell over her again, but this time she could see it came from Severus. She steeled herself as he commanded her to jump up and down. Gritting her teeth she fought the desire to be obedient. Finally she prevailed and the urge left her. Severus nodded his approval of her fighting and sent another Imperious curse at her. She fought it off and several others before Severus felt her practice had been sufficient.

Serina suddenly collapsed to the ground. Severus rushed over and knelt by her side.

"That was exhausting!" she cried, as Severus lifted her into his arms. "It was more intense than I was prepared for. I've never trained to block real dark spells before. I just assumed they would be the same as the spells that I had been training with, but they're much more potent."

He gently lifted her up and guided her back to the cabin.

"You'll need to rest, Serina. This kind of fighting is always taxing."

When they entered the cabin he guided her to the bedroom and helped her settle into the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand, studying her exhausted face. For the first time he wondered how this battle would truly affect Serina. He had no doubt that she had the powers to accomplish her task, but how weak would she be at the end? What if she became so weak that she died? Was she sacrificing her life for the cause? He squeezed her hand and she opened her eyes and looked at him.

"I have some reading to do," he explained. "Is it okay if I leave you alone to rest?"

Serina smiled at him an acknowledgement and he got up and left the room. Going over to the bookshelf in the main room, he perused the titles until he found the one he was looking for. Removing it from the shelf, he took it over to a chair and settled in for a long study session. He smoothed his hand over the cover for a minute before opening it. The title read Strengthening Spells and Their Uses. Perhaps he could find something to help Serina if she began to get weak during the battle. He opened the book and found the chapter he needed and began to read.


A/N: Next up: Voldemort's plan is implemented.

I hope you liked it. We're almost up to the final battle. What do you think the outcome will be? Review, review, review!