Black Night
Part Fourteen
Rated R
Bellatrix/Severus, Bellatrix/Remus, Narcissa/Lucius
The four of them were gathered about the parchment, Snape's mouth half-open and Bella looking at Remus every few seconds in an almost-frightened way. He had suspected - no, he had more than suspected - but it was different than having her actually admit to it.
He had not told Sirius, and he would not.
He wasn't sure why - possibly because he knew that it had to wait, at least until they found Andromeda. Until then, it was out of the question. If Sirius found out, he didn't know what would happen and he didn't want to.
The other possibility was one that was much less welcome - and he thought it was at least part of his reasoning.
It was something in her eyes when she looked at him.
Snape was shooting him the occasional glance. Remus knew what the man had been planning to do - at least that it was either a Memory Charm or a Killing Curse. But Snape was confused, and probably somewhat frightened himself. This had not been part of the plan, his finding out. It had been unexpected and probably unwelcome.
"Well," Snape said quietly after a while, "I know where it is. I've been there before."
"What about the rest of us?" Sirius demanded. "I've certainly never been there -"
"I have a Portkey," Snape continued sharply. "But if I use it. . ."
His and Bella's eyes met and then they both looked breifly at Remus, who understood.
"No," he agreed, and Sirius looked startled.
"What the hell d'you mean, no?" he demanded. "Remus, if we can get to Andry -"
"Trust me, Sirius, you don't want to know what will happen if we Portkey there." And it was true. He didn't. "If we do, we'll have maybe a minute to find Andry and get her out of there -"
"Less," Snape and Bellatrix said in unison.
"Why?" Sirius demanded, angrily this time. "What do the lot of you know that I don't? Why -"
"Sirius, let it be said for now that we have to find another way," Bella said coolly.
Sirius stared at her in consternation and silence for a moment, and had just opened his mouth to speak when the entire area was lit by a sudden red light. It faded within seconds, and before it even had fully two figures had Apparated into their midst.
Lucius had his wand out and his arm was around Narcissa tightly. She was pale and looked frightened, but she wasn't holding her wand and her eyes shot instantly to Bella's, then Sirius'. They darted back and forth several times and then she looked at the ground.
Lucius' eyes were far from calm. He had looked immediately at Snape, and stared at him for some time before moving on to Remus and studying him a moment. Then to Sirius and Bella, both of whom looked on the verge of drawing their wands but were eyeing Lucius' carefully.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sirius asked after a moment of silence, his voice trembling with barely-contained emotion.
Lucius' mouth twisted, and he glanced at Narcissa breifly before looking back at the rest of them. "We're looking for Andromeda Tonks."
Before any of the rest of them could say anything, Bella had said quietly, "You know where she is. Find a way to get us there."
"What?" Narcissa turned to look at Lucius, in what appeared to be confusion, and Lucius shook his head.
"I knew where she had been. I checked; there was no sign. Nothing. And it's not somewhere that you would know, or that you would suspect I know, so I suspect that you suspect she's been somewhere since. I have no idea where you think I know she is." He flushed a bit, obviously realizing a bit too late that he had abandoned his elaborate and aristocratic ways of speech.
"You knew - you mean - where we went - she was there?" Narcissa whispered, still staring at him.
He looked over at her, and his face filled with emotions that Remus wouldn't have thought Lucius Malfoy could possibly experience. Love and sadness and -
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just - I couldn't - I can explain to you, everything, but not here or now, because we have to find her and I -"
Narcissa's face was tight, but she nodded and Lucius seemed to sag with relief. "I'm sorry," he whispered again. Narcissa looked away from him, over at Snape.
"So good of you to join us all," she said. "And you, too - Lupin, isn't it? I always disliked you in school. Bella, where is it that you think she is?"
"The valley," Bellatrix said quietly, "where we used to meet. Remember? It's been a while since we were there together." The last word was colder, and as she said it her eyes had shifted to Lucius. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Listen," Remus said, since no one else seemed to be taking any effort to say this, "if we're all looking for her, I think we need to forget that we hate each other and get on with it, all right?"
Lucius nodded impatiently. Narcissa looked over at him and shrugged, Snape was gritting his teeth loudly but didn't seem to have anything to say against the matter. Sirius and Bella were both staring acidly at Lucius, although Sirius' eyes were darting to Snape once in a while. But finally Bella nodded stiffly and Sirius sighed and did the same.
"All right," Remus said, silently sharing Lucius' impatience. "I think the first order of business is finding out how the hell we get where we're going, correct?"
"Why can't we just Apparate?" Lucius asked.
"Sirius and I have never been wherever it is, and neither of us is all that good at Apparition. We used Patronuses to charge down the Portkey - her wand - but it damaged the spell and now all we have are the images."
"Just look at the images, why don't you?" Narcissa suggested. "Get to know it as well as you can from looking at it. We obviously can't Floo there, there isn't a house for miles and miles. And we can't fly there, there isn't time - and since we can't use the Portkeys -"
Bella had brought the parchment over. Sirius was looking over her shoulder on one side, and all the others were crowding around. Remus was left crushed on Bellatrix's left side, peering at the images as she prodded the parchment, making them move, shift from picture to picture.
After a long, long time, Sirius said at last, "I think I've got it as much as I'm going to. Remus?"
He nodded. He thought he had a certain point pictured correctly. Lucius pulled Narcissa close to him, Sirius' eyes were rolled back into his head, Bella and Snape were both concentrating hard. Remus closed his eyes and -
darkness swirling so dark so lonely so cold it's not right forever and ever forever after stay here don't leave darkness and then
there was an explosion of color and Remus found himself lying on the ground in the dark, his eyes wide open with Sirius kneeling beside him.
"What the hell was that?" Sirius was saying. "Remus? Are you all right?"
"Yes," Remus said, and then he checked. Yes. He could move, and think, and stand - he did so quickly.
"There was a ward," Lucius said, his face pale. Narcissa was even whiter, and she was holding onto the man tightly. "An anti-Apparition ward. I broke it down. They'll be here within twenty minutes."
"Who?" Sirius asked. No one answered, so he turned back to look at Remus. "You were out for a minute or two. Had us worried."
"Did you. . ." Remus breathed. "Did you feel. . ."
"A darkness," Sirius whispered, nodding. "Cold as bone and alone. I thought I had died. I thought it would kill me. I don't know. It was awful."
Remus nodded, partially in agreement and partially in relief. It hadn't been only him. No matter how alone he had felt, he hadn't been, and that was a comfort. He never wanted to be alone again.
"What would it have done to us?" he asked Lucius.
"We might have survived it," was the almost-casual reply, but then Lucius' voice grew darker, "and so I almost just let it go - better to be injured and undetected, in this case - but I kept my senses, and checked over all of you. We might have survived it, but you wouldn't have. And so I broke it down. Enough?"
Sirius was staring at Malfoy in almost disbelief. Remus himself was feeling a wash of cold and strangeness over his body. Lucius Malfoy had - had saved his life? Risked detection and perhaps death - to make sure Remus didn't die?
"Thank you," Remus whispered, but Lucius didn't seem to hear - with a glance at Narcissa to see that she was all right, he turned away from them all, muttering to himself and moving towards the trees.
"I'm not sure if she's here," he said slowly, clearly to himself.
Bella had moved over towards Remus; she was standing next to him and watching Lucius' progress towards the trees. Then finally, she asked a bit anxiously, "Are you all right?"
He looked over at her, partly in surprise and partly because her voice was strange and he wanted to see her face, to see why. And she was staring at him with fear and worry evident on her face.
"Yes," he said, as if he was elsewhere but trying to get a message to her with difficulty. "Yes, Bella. I'm all right."
The four of them were gathered about the parchment, Snape's mouth half-open and Bella looking at Remus every few seconds in an almost-frightened way. He had suspected - no, he had more than suspected - but it was different than having her actually admit to it.
He had not told Sirius, and he would not.
He wasn't sure why - possibly because he knew that it had to wait, at least until they found Andromeda. Until then, it was out of the question. If Sirius found out, he didn't know what would happen and he didn't want to.
The other possibility was one that was much less welcome - and he thought it was at least part of his reasoning.
It was something in her eyes when she looked at him.
Snape was shooting him the occasional glance. Remus knew what the man had been planning to do - at least that it was either a Memory Charm or a Killing Curse. But Snape was confused, and probably somewhat frightened himself. This had not been part of the plan, his finding out. It had been unexpected and probably unwelcome.
"Well," Snape said quietly after a while, "I know where it is. I've been there before."
"What about the rest of us?" Sirius demanded. "I've certainly never been there -"
"I have a Portkey," Snape continued sharply. "But if I use it. . ."
His and Bella's eyes met and then they both looked breifly at Remus, who understood.
"No," he agreed, and Sirius looked startled.
"What the hell d'you mean, no?" he demanded. "Remus, if we can get to Andry -"
"Trust me, Sirius, you don't want to know what will happen if we Portkey there." And it was true. He didn't. "If we do, we'll have maybe a minute to find Andry and get her out of there -"
"Less," Snape and Bellatrix said in unison.
"Why?" Sirius demanded, angrily this time. "What do the lot of you know that I don't? Why -"
"Sirius, let it be said for now that we have to find another way," Bella said coolly.
Sirius stared at her in consternation and silence for a moment, and had just opened his mouth to speak when the entire area was lit by a sudden red light. It faded within seconds, and before it even had fully two figures had Apparated into their midst.
Lucius had his wand out and his arm was around Narcissa tightly. She was pale and looked frightened, but she wasn't holding her wand and her eyes shot instantly to Bella's, then Sirius'. They darted back and forth several times and then she looked at the ground.
Lucius' eyes were far from calm. He had looked immediately at Snape, and stared at him for some time before moving on to Remus and studying him a moment. Then to Sirius and Bella, both of whom looked on the verge of drawing their wands but were eyeing Lucius' carefully.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sirius asked after a moment of silence, his voice trembling with barely-contained emotion.
Lucius' mouth twisted, and he glanced at Narcissa breifly before looking back at the rest of them. "We're looking for Andromeda Tonks."
Before any of the rest of them could say anything, Bella had said quietly, "You know where she is. Find a way to get us there."
"What?" Narcissa turned to look at Lucius, in what appeared to be confusion, and Lucius shook his head.
"I knew where she had been. I checked; there was no sign. Nothing. And it's not somewhere that you would know, or that you would suspect I know, so I suspect that you suspect she's been somewhere since. I have no idea where you think I know she is." He flushed a bit, obviously realizing a bit too late that he had abandoned his elaborate and aristocratic ways of speech.
"You knew - you mean - where we went - she was there?" Narcissa whispered, still staring at him.
He looked over at her, and his face filled with emotions that Remus wouldn't have thought Lucius Malfoy could possibly experience. Love and sadness and -
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just - I couldn't - I can explain to you, everything, but not here or now, because we have to find her and I -"
Narcissa's face was tight, but she nodded and Lucius seemed to sag with relief. "I'm sorry," he whispered again. Narcissa looked away from him, over at Snape.
"So good of you to join us all," she said. "And you, too - Lupin, isn't it? I always disliked you in school. Bella, where is it that you think she is?"
"The valley," Bellatrix said quietly, "where we used to meet. Remember? It's been a while since we were there together." The last word was colder, and as she said it her eyes had shifted to Lucius. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.
"Listen," Remus said, since no one else seemed to be taking any effort to say this, "if we're all looking for her, I think we need to forget that we hate each other and get on with it, all right?"
Lucius nodded impatiently. Narcissa looked over at him and shrugged, Snape was gritting his teeth loudly but didn't seem to have anything to say against the matter. Sirius and Bella were both staring acidly at Lucius, although Sirius' eyes were darting to Snape once in a while. But finally Bella nodded stiffly and Sirius sighed and did the same.
"All right," Remus said, silently sharing Lucius' impatience. "I think the first order of business is finding out how the hell we get where we're going, correct?"
"Why can't we just Apparate?" Lucius asked.
"Sirius and I have never been wherever it is, and neither of us is all that good at Apparition. We used Patronuses to charge down the Portkey - her wand - but it damaged the spell and now all we have are the images."
"Just look at the images, why don't you?" Narcissa suggested. "Get to know it as well as you can from looking at it. We obviously can't Floo there, there isn't a house for miles and miles. And we can't fly there, there isn't time - and since we can't use the Portkeys -"
Bella had brought the parchment over. Sirius was looking over her shoulder on one side, and all the others were crowding around. Remus was left crushed on Bellatrix's left side, peering at the images as she prodded the parchment, making them move, shift from picture to picture.
After a long, long time, Sirius said at last, "I think I've got it as much as I'm going to. Remus?"
He nodded. He thought he had a certain point pictured correctly. Lucius pulled Narcissa close to him, Sirius' eyes were rolled back into his head, Bella and Snape were both concentrating hard. Remus closed his eyes and -
darkness swirling so dark so lonely so cold it's not right forever and ever forever after stay here don't leave darkness and then
there was an explosion of color and Remus found himself lying on the ground in the dark, his eyes wide open with Sirius kneeling beside him.
"What the hell was that?" Sirius was saying. "Remus? Are you all right?"
"Yes," Remus said, and then he checked. Yes. He could move, and think, and stand - he did so quickly.
"There was a ward," Lucius said, his face pale. Narcissa was even whiter, and she was holding onto the man tightly. "An anti-Apparition ward. I broke it down. They'll be here within twenty minutes."
"Who?" Sirius asked. No one answered, so he turned back to look at Remus. "You were out for a minute or two. Had us worried."
"Did you. . ." Remus breathed. "Did you feel. . ."
"A darkness," Sirius whispered, nodding. "Cold as bone and alone. I thought I had died. I thought it would kill me. I don't know. It was awful."
Remus nodded, partially in agreement and partially in relief. It hadn't been only him. No matter how alone he had felt, he hadn't been, and that was a comfort. He never wanted to be alone again.
"What would it have done to us?" he asked Lucius.
"We might have survived it," was the almost-casual reply, but then Lucius' voice grew darker, "and so I almost just let it go - better to be injured and undetected, in this case - but I kept my senses, and checked over all of you. We might have survived it, but you wouldn't have. And so I broke it down. Enough?"
Sirius was staring at Malfoy in almost disbelief. Remus himself was feeling a wash of cold and strangeness over his body. Lucius Malfoy had - had saved his life? Risked detection and perhaps death - to make sure Remus didn't die?
"Thank you," Remus whispered, but Lucius didn't seem to hear - with a glance at Narcissa to see that she was all right, he turned away from them all, muttering to himself and moving towards the trees.
"I'm not sure if she's here," he said slowly, clearly to himself.
Bella had moved over towards Remus; she was standing next to him and watching Lucius' progress towards the trees. Then finally, she asked a bit anxiously, "Are you all right?"
He looked over at her, partly in surprise and partly because her voice was strange and he wanted to see her face, to see why. And she was staring at him with fear and worry evident on her face.
"Yes," he said, as if he was elsewhere but trying to get a message to her with difficulty. "Yes, Bella. I'm all right."
