* * * *
"Things are going to come down to something big," Glory mumbled into Lucius's shoulder. He stirred slightly in the bed so he could look at her face, then pushed her blonde hair off her forehead. Her eyes were closed and her face still rested against his pale skin, her breath tickling him slightly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, adjusting his position carefully, as to not aggravate her wounded ribs. Madam Pomfrey had done her best, but the bruises were still fresh and vividly purple.
Glory's eyes stayed closed and she nuzzled against his skin. "I mean that no matter what I do, no matter what Severus does or what Draco does, it's going to end up the same."
Lucius frowned, still puzzled by her half conscious comments. "I'm not following you."
"Honestly, Lucius," she whispered against his skin. "Sometimes I think you don't listen at all."
"I'm listening, love," he said, "I'm just not following."
"Fate," she whispered, drifting further into sleep. "It all comes down to fate, Lucius. You can intervene as my protector but if I'm meant to destroy the world then it's going to happen. Severus can try to take over your job, he can pretend he's doing a better job of protecting me, but if it's meant to happen then none of that matters."
"Don't say that," Lucius urged. "You don't know what's going to happen."
Glory's eyes fluttered open and she blessed him with a sleepy smile. "Neither do you." Her eyes shut once more and she slumped into the pillow, breathing softly against Lucius's skin.
He tried to fall asleep after hearing her speak of fate, he willed his body to relax but the tension in his neck spread down through his shoulders and his back. Lucius sighed, then adjusted Glory's position in the bed before sitting up. He gently eased himself from the bed, then reached for his clothing and began to dress. The idea of fate taunted him as he dressed and he wondered if he was following some greater plan even at that very second.
Was it foretold somewhere that Lucius Malfoy would walk the castle after dark that night? Was Glory right when she said that she really had no choice in how her destiny played out? Would she become the tool of the Dark Lord . . . was there nothing he could do to protect her?
Lucius closed the clasp on his robes, then left the room quietly, taking his wand with him as he went. There was no telling who could be in the halls at night.
As he reached the upper towers, Lucius realized how much he hated prowling the school at night, but the thoughts of fate and losing Glory were weighing too heavily on his shoulders for him to sleep that night. He had once felt so safe at Hogwarts, so sure that no one would be able to touch Glory while she was inside the walls of the school but suddenly all that security was gone. Glory's words left him with nothing to hold onto, just a blinding look at reality and a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. If his own son had something to do with it, Lucius didn't know what he'd do.
Draco. The thought of his child passed through his mind quickly, unheeded in his worried state, but as he walked, he came over the name again. Draco Malfoy, seventh year Slytherin, currently lying asleep in his dormitory. He would be completely unsuspecting if Lucius were to sneak up there now and take a peek at his left forearm.
His mind made up, Lucius turned quickly and went back the way he had come. He moved through the halls as quickly as he could without making too much noise as he went. It took him only moments to come upon the Slytherin common room, but he stopped short, realizing that he had no way of knowing the password.
He stopped and stared at the sleeping portrait, angry with himself for acting so rashly. He should have known better, catching Draco wouldn't be that easy. If his son was a Death Eater at all he'd be aware of his surroundings, he wouldn't be caught by someone sneeking into his dormitory to peer at his arm.
"Always wandering the school when you should be watching your lover," Snape said from nearby, grinning when Lucius jumped and turned around.
"She's asleep," he said, then began to walk away.
"Why aren't you?" Snape asked.
Lucius paused and frowned. "What does it matter?"
Snape smiled softly, his eyes darkening. "You're always up to no good, Lucius."
"Glory talked to me about fate," he said softly.
Snape frowned. "What?"
Lucius glanced up. "Fate. You know what it is. She said that maybe all my efforts are futile. She said that maybe she's just meant to be this tool of destruction and nothing we do will be able to stop it." He stared at Snape. "Well, you wanted to know why I wasn't asleep, didn't you?"
Snape nodded slowly, suddenly unsure if he actually wanted to know.
"I'm not asleep because I can't relax with that thought on my mind," Lucius began, pacing the empty corridor. "What if she's right? What if my being here isn't worth a damn thing? I killed so many people, Severus, you know that. I can't possibly atone for all the things I've done as a Death Eater, but I've been given the chance to start. I've been given this chance to protect and rebuild a woman I helped destroy."
Snape nodded again.
Lucius glanced up and caught his eye. "You seem so guilt free. Would you care to share your secret?"
Snape laughed harshly. "I have more guilt than you can possibly imagine, Lucius."
"I doubt that."
They fell silent, each lost in his own thoughts. Lucius's were following one track, his desperate need to protect Glory and redeem at least some of the soul he thought had been lost. Snape's were the opposite; jumbled and confused, and for the first time he began to wonder if he had been wrong about Lucius.
"I need your help, Severus," Lucius said finally. "I know you keep telling everyone that you don't trust me, but I need you to." He shook his head. "Without your help, I think we're already lost."
Snape looked up. "Why my help?"
"Because we know Voldemort's tactics. Together we're stronger."
Snape stared at Lucius for a very long time, then sighed deeply. "All right. I'll help you. But only because the world needs it and Glory needs it. Not for you."
"I understand that," Lucius said.
"I'll trust you," Snape said, "but if you ever do a single thing to make me doubt that trust I will have Albus throw you out."
Lucius nodded again. "Then we have an agreement."
Snape sighed once more, then nodded grudgingly. "It appears that we do."
"Tomorrow then," Lucius said, "we'll begin working on a way to find out if my son is a Death Eater and what Voldemort's possible plans are."
"Agreed."
Lucius and Snape stared at each other for another long moment in the hall before Lucius backed away slowly.
"Goodnight, Severus," he said, then turned and walked back toward his room.
Snape watched him go, then narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't like trusting Lucius, but he knew the man was right. Together they would be stronger.
"Goodnight, Lucius," he mumbled to the empty hall, then turned toward hi chambers.
* * * *
Daphne Heyman stood outside Hogwarts and stared up at the rambling school. She had Apparated into Hogsmeade early in the morning and taken a room at the Leaky Cauldron, telling the Innkeeper she had a friend who was teaching at Hogwarts. He had looked suspicious for a long time until she had taken out her Auror's licence and shown it to him. His mood had lightened considerably after that, after all, the word Auror was almost synonymous with the word hero.
"Fifteen minutes," she said softly, beginning the walk toward the school. "Fifteen minutes until I see my old friend, Glory."
The walk was short and she would arrive at the front door quickly, but she had to be careful once she got there. She couldn't have Severus Snape or Lucius Malfoy seeing here before she got to Glory. Other than Draco Malfoy, they were the only two Death Eaters in the school and they had betrayed their Dark Lord. If they saw her they might not hesitate to kill her.
Daphne's grip tightened on her wand as she walked up the stone steps outside of Hogwarts. A grin crossed over her face. Within hours she would be returning to Voldemort with Glory and Lucius and together they would rule the world.
She pushed open the heavy wooden doors and stepped into the main hall.
* * * *
"Things are going to come down to something big," Glory mumbled into Lucius's shoulder. He stirred slightly in the bed so he could look at her face, then pushed her blonde hair off her forehead. Her eyes were closed and her face still rested against his pale skin, her breath tickling him slightly.
"What do you mean?" he asked, adjusting his position carefully, as to not aggravate her wounded ribs. Madam Pomfrey had done her best, but the bruises were still fresh and vividly purple.
Glory's eyes stayed closed and she nuzzled against his skin. "I mean that no matter what I do, no matter what Severus does or what Draco does, it's going to end up the same."
Lucius frowned, still puzzled by her half conscious comments. "I'm not following you."
"Honestly, Lucius," she whispered against his skin. "Sometimes I think you don't listen at all."
"I'm listening, love," he said, "I'm just not following."
"Fate," she whispered, drifting further into sleep. "It all comes down to fate, Lucius. You can intervene as my protector but if I'm meant to destroy the world then it's going to happen. Severus can try to take over your job, he can pretend he's doing a better job of protecting me, but if it's meant to happen then none of that matters."
"Don't say that," Lucius urged. "You don't know what's going to happen."
Glory's eyes fluttered open and she blessed him with a sleepy smile. "Neither do you." Her eyes shut once more and she slumped into the pillow, breathing softly against Lucius's skin.
He tried to fall asleep after hearing her speak of fate, he willed his body to relax but the tension in his neck spread down through his shoulders and his back. Lucius sighed, then adjusted Glory's position in the bed before sitting up. He gently eased himself from the bed, then reached for his clothing and began to dress. The idea of fate taunted him as he dressed and he wondered if he was following some greater plan even at that very second.
Was it foretold somewhere that Lucius Malfoy would walk the castle after dark that night? Was Glory right when she said that she really had no choice in how her destiny played out? Would she become the tool of the Dark Lord . . . was there nothing he could do to protect her?
Lucius closed the clasp on his robes, then left the room quietly, taking his wand with him as he went. There was no telling who could be in the halls at night.
As he reached the upper towers, Lucius realized how much he hated prowling the school at night, but the thoughts of fate and losing Glory were weighing too heavily on his shoulders for him to sleep that night. He had once felt so safe at Hogwarts, so sure that no one would be able to touch Glory while she was inside the walls of the school but suddenly all that security was gone. Glory's words left him with nothing to hold onto, just a blinding look at reality and a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. If his own son had something to do with it, Lucius didn't know what he'd do.
Draco. The thought of his child passed through his mind quickly, unheeded in his worried state, but as he walked, he came over the name again. Draco Malfoy, seventh year Slytherin, currently lying asleep in his dormitory. He would be completely unsuspecting if Lucius were to sneak up there now and take a peek at his left forearm.
His mind made up, Lucius turned quickly and went back the way he had come. He moved through the halls as quickly as he could without making too much noise as he went. It took him only moments to come upon the Slytherin common room, but he stopped short, realizing that he had no way of knowing the password.
He stopped and stared at the sleeping portrait, angry with himself for acting so rashly. He should have known better, catching Draco wouldn't be that easy. If his son was a Death Eater at all he'd be aware of his surroundings, he wouldn't be caught by someone sneeking into his dormitory to peer at his arm.
"Always wandering the school when you should be watching your lover," Snape said from nearby, grinning when Lucius jumped and turned around.
"She's asleep," he said, then began to walk away.
"Why aren't you?" Snape asked.
Lucius paused and frowned. "What does it matter?"
Snape smiled softly, his eyes darkening. "You're always up to no good, Lucius."
"Glory talked to me about fate," he said softly.
Snape frowned. "What?"
Lucius glanced up. "Fate. You know what it is. She said that maybe all my efforts are futile. She said that maybe she's just meant to be this tool of destruction and nothing we do will be able to stop it." He stared at Snape. "Well, you wanted to know why I wasn't asleep, didn't you?"
Snape nodded slowly, suddenly unsure if he actually wanted to know.
"I'm not asleep because I can't relax with that thought on my mind," Lucius began, pacing the empty corridor. "What if she's right? What if my being here isn't worth a damn thing? I killed so many people, Severus, you know that. I can't possibly atone for all the things I've done as a Death Eater, but I've been given the chance to start. I've been given this chance to protect and rebuild a woman I helped destroy."
Snape nodded again.
Lucius glanced up and caught his eye. "You seem so guilt free. Would you care to share your secret?"
Snape laughed harshly. "I have more guilt than you can possibly imagine, Lucius."
"I doubt that."
They fell silent, each lost in his own thoughts. Lucius's were following one track, his desperate need to protect Glory and redeem at least some of the soul he thought had been lost. Snape's were the opposite; jumbled and confused, and for the first time he began to wonder if he had been wrong about Lucius.
"I need your help, Severus," Lucius said finally. "I know you keep telling everyone that you don't trust me, but I need you to." He shook his head. "Without your help, I think we're already lost."
Snape looked up. "Why my help?"
"Because we know Voldemort's tactics. Together we're stronger."
Snape stared at Lucius for a very long time, then sighed deeply. "All right. I'll help you. But only because the world needs it and Glory needs it. Not for you."
"I understand that," Lucius said.
"I'll trust you," Snape said, "but if you ever do a single thing to make me doubt that trust I will have Albus throw you out."
Lucius nodded again. "Then we have an agreement."
Snape sighed once more, then nodded grudgingly. "It appears that we do."
"Tomorrow then," Lucius said, "we'll begin working on a way to find out if my son is a Death Eater and what Voldemort's possible plans are."
"Agreed."
Lucius and Snape stared at each other for another long moment in the hall before Lucius backed away slowly.
"Goodnight, Severus," he said, then turned and walked back toward his room.
Snape watched him go, then narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line. He didn't like trusting Lucius, but he knew the man was right. Together they would be stronger.
"Goodnight, Lucius," he mumbled to the empty hall, then turned toward hi chambers.
* * * *
Daphne Heyman stood outside Hogwarts and stared up at the rambling school. She had Apparated into Hogsmeade early in the morning and taken a room at the Leaky Cauldron, telling the Innkeeper she had a friend who was teaching at Hogwarts. He had looked suspicious for a long time until she had taken out her Auror's licence and shown it to him. His mood had lightened considerably after that, after all, the word Auror was almost synonymous with the word hero.
"Fifteen minutes," she said softly, beginning the walk toward the school. "Fifteen minutes until I see my old friend, Glory."
The walk was short and she would arrive at the front door quickly, but she had to be careful once she got there. She couldn't have Severus Snape or Lucius Malfoy seeing here before she got to Glory. Other than Draco Malfoy, they were the only two Death Eaters in the school and they had betrayed their Dark Lord. If they saw her they might not hesitate to kill her.
Daphne's grip tightened on her wand as she walked up the stone steps outside of Hogwarts. A grin crossed over her face. Within hours she would be returning to Voldemort with Glory and Lucius and together they would rule the world.
She pushed open the heavy wooden doors and stepped into the main hall.
* * * *