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Campaign
France, near Beaumont & at La Belle Alliance Inn
June 18th, 1815
It rained continuously through the night and the inevitable confrontation had been delayed several hours while we tensely waited for the battlefield to dry. Lord Voldemort had sent word to the right wing of the Army of the North, ordering the harassment of the Prussians in an attempt to stop them from reforming. However, the Northern Army didn't begin moving until two hours later, at eight o'clock.
Minutes were quickly ticking by and being lost as we breakfasted in ease. The Dark Lord licked his silver knife clean and stabbed another sausage off his silver plate.
"My Lord, perhaps the Army of the North should be recalled," Lucius began carefully.
Voldemort dabbed the silk napkin to greyish lips. "Whatever for?"
Lucius met my eyes over the breakfast table. I sneered silently. Hell itself would freeze before the Dark Lord admitted that perhaps he was incorrect about how this battle would play out.
"Just because you have all been beaten by Wellington, you think he's a good general. I tell you, Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad troops, and this affair is nothing more than eating breakfast,"* the Dark Lord continued, dismissively.
I hoped that he was incorrect.
Rousing, the army took up position on the southern ridge, but from our position it was impossible to see Wellington's position. The I Corps took up formation on the right while the II Corps arrayed to the left. I attempted, as much as possible, to stay out of the sight of the Dark Lord and his tightly gathered confidants, Malfoy and Greyback. By noon the cannons could be heard from Waterloo, and Voldemort had moved his command post from Rossomme farm, from which he could see the entire battlefield, to La Belle Alliance Inn. He had to receive delegation from the battlefield from Ney-Lestrange.
Lupin and Potter accompanied me to the inn where I would administer his Lordship's afternoon potions. I weighed my servants down with the cases of vials that disguised the enchanted chains that would ultimately bind the Dark Lord to the Allied Forces.
Thorfinn Rowle stopped me at the door to the inn.
"Playing gatekeeper now?" I mocked.
He bared his teeth. "Watch your mouth, Snape. What have you got here?"
"Potions for his Lordship. Better let me pass." I was not above stunning him if he resisted but better to hope for his cooperation.
Rowle's gaze settled on the men behind me and Potter fidgeted under the glamour and looked about, ready to start attempting something stupid when Malfoy called from inside, "Don't be a fool and keep the Emperor waiting."
Bless the bastard.
I climbed the stairs slowly, quietly dreading the unavoidable conflict ahead of us. We took up our places in the inner room. I freed the chains from the hidden compartments and lay them out. Nagini unwound herself from one of the ceiling beams, suspicious.
I took great pleasure in eviscerating her. Nothing could have been worse than to get so close to our goal, only to die from a snakebite.
*A quote attributed to Napoleon himself at breakfast on June 18th.
Edited for grammar, spelling, capitalization & punctuation on May 8th, 2013 [courtesy of renaid, who looks out for Lupin and Potter].
Edited for formatting and author's notes March 3rd, 2015.
