Black Night
Part Fifteen
Rated R
Narcissa/Lucius, Bellatrix/Severus, Bellatrix/Remus
Remus moved through the trees with Sirius silent beside him.
"It's so quiet," Sirius whispered. "Why? She isn't here, Remus. It's too quiet."
Both of them knew Remus' unspoken question. What if she's dead, Sirius?
"But she isn't!" Sirius burst out more loudly. "She isn't, and don't even think she might be, because I'd know! I would know, Remus, I'm sure of it, she was - she was and is my everything, all I have to live for in my family, and I - I would know if Andry was - was -"
There were tears in his voice, and he clearly was not going to continue.
"Yes," Remus said quietly. And then a lie. "I believe you."
Would that hurt more than anything else? Because something in the pit of Remus' stomach was telling him that Andromeda was dead, and he was weeping silently for it. He had never known her as Sirius had, but he had met her. After their fourth year, Sirius and Andry had come over to his house together, after the full moon, and Andromeda had spoken to him knowing what he was and not caring. She had come many times, once even without Sirius, and in the past few years he'd come to know her as his own cousin, his own protector and comforter, as Sirius had known her but more distantly.
And now, he knew, she was probably dead.
A yell through the trees - Lucius' voice - "This way! All of you! We haven't much time, hurry! This way!" And Remus' heart banged against his ribcage angrily, is she alive or dead, tell us, now, prepare us -
But instead of Lucius' voice, the thing that prepared them to see what they were about to see as they raced through the trees was a quiet sobbing, and it was Narcissa's voice saying why why why.
Bella and Severus were just behind them and Bella caught up with Remus in a single burst of speed. Sirius was just ahead and Snape just behind and the two of them were between, running through the trees and stopping right beside Sirius, who was already on the ground next to her body with his face buried in her robes, and Narcissa, whose face was in Lucius' shoulder, as his was in her hair and he stroked it gently, murmering I'm sorry I'm sorry against her sobs of why. Severus was behind them and he simply stopped, and Remus was on his knees behind Sirius and next to Bella, looking at Andromeda's face, which seemed to be made of stone. Her eyes were closed and her mouth only partially open, and her dark hair glimmered in the moonlight. Pale skin, very pale, and there was blood on her fingers, her own from a gash in her hand, but the blood was dried and her skin was cold. Remus had touched it, touched her dead hand, and she was far away by now.
And then Bella was crying, sobbing, and Sirius' head was thrown back and he was howling a dog a wolf a man whose heart is being torn from him, and Lucius was pale and shaking and perhaps crying himself, and Remus was a stone, with Bella's face in his shoulder and Snape's eyes angry on his back, and his arms tight and careful around her, comforting her as she cried and he stared at Andry.
And Sirius' fingers were moving across her face, the face of this dead young woman, the face that was so unlike her because it was without laughter or emotion, except for a radiating deep sadness, a regret, that would never fade.
And she was dead.
Snape's voice, suddenly frightened, "They're coming." And Lucius' voice halting abruptly, and Narcissa taking a great shuddering breath, and Bella stiffening, and Sirius unmoving by her body.
Remus stood slowly, feeling a numb fury and turning to Snape. In a voice of silent steel, "You said it wasn't Him."
"It wasn't," Snape's reply, but wavering, uncertain. "It wasn't."
Lucius echoing it. "It wasn't, Lupin. It wasn't."
And uncontrollable anger. "Then why the hell is she IhereI?"
Sirius' sobs echoing in his ears. Bella's Patronus burned against his eyes. His own fury and greif pounding in his heart, threatening to break down the dam he placed against it time after time.
Lucius helpless, and yes, those were tearstains on his cheeks, his own as well as Narcissa's, perhaps. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be dead -"
But Sirius' gaze had risen, tears pouring down his cheeks, and at Lucius words he screamed, roared, "SHE'S NOT! SHE ISN'T DEAD - ANDRY - I'D KNOW, I NEVER FELT IT, I NEVER KNEW, ANDRY, I'M SORRY -"
"She's dead," Narcissa's voice this time, faint and shaking and wracked with pain.
"NO!" Sirius screamed.
"No," Narcissa echoed, softly, and Bella had moved across next to Sirius, next to her sister.
"She can't be dead," Bella had whispered, and Sirius turned and seized her shoulders, shaking her, SHE ISN'T! SHE ISN'T DEAD, REMUS, TELL THEM, TELL THEM SHE ISN'T DEAD -
"Oh God," Remus heard himself whisper, "Nymphadora. . ."
"NO!" Sirius screamed, still clinging to the front of Bella's robes, but he had stopped shaking her and they were both sobbing, Sirius' voice now quiet she's not dead she's not supposed to be dead she can't be Andry I'm sorry I don't want her to be dead please let me wake up she can't die she's dead oh God Andry -
And Remus felt something break inside his chest, some invisible hand finally break past the dam and squeeze his heart, hard, and he felt a sob rise in his throat.
Just one.
And then the real dam broke.
"They're coming," Snape whispered again. "He's coming. We have to get out."
"The Dark Lord?" Remus whispered. "Voldemort?"
"HE KILLED HER!" Sirius screamed, standing up suddenly and fumbling for his wand. "I'LL KILL HIM!"
"Don't be a fool, Black!" Snape snapped. "We've got to get out of here, now!"
"Where should we take her body?" Remus asked dully.
"No," Sirius moaned, his search for his wand abandoned.
"Anywhere," Snape said, his voice near to frantic. Lucius stood still and pale, and Sirius, still ignoring Snape's attempts to get everyone moving, turned to the other man.
"You knew," he said softly. Lucius didn't move, and Narcissa was looking at him now. "You knew she was dead. You knew, you bastard. And you didn't tell her, did you?" He gestured to Narcissa, who looked over at him instead and then back at Lucius. "You didn't tell us. You knew."
Lucius nodded, slowly, so slowly, and Narcissa let out a wail, and he looked down at her and reached out a hand to touch her face but she pulled away. "No!" she cried. "It's not true! He didn't know, you didn't know, you can't have -"
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"You said you loved me!" she cried out.
"It was the truth," he answered simply.
"I hate you!" she screamed, and he flinched.
"I deserve it," he answered.
"He saved Remus," Bella said quietly. All eyes went to her. She was the only one still next to Andry's body, the only one still kneeling there by her sister. "He saved Remus' life. I'm not going to forget that easily." Snape made an indistinct sound and she looked at him with a sneer. "You, Severus - look at you, standing there coldly. My sister is dead and you don't ever care. IYouI said you loved ImeI, but he does love her." She jerked her head roughly at Lucius and Narcissa. "And maybe he isn't the filth I thought he was. I'm sorry," she added, to Lucius, who nodded once. "I misjudged you. And you," she added to Remus, who was staring at her. "I took you for a fool, and you aren't. And you," she said to Sirius, and then to Narcissa, "and you, too, and I'm sorry. And I'm also sorry that I misjudged you." The last was to Snape, who was standing stiffly and staring at her. "Because if I'd realized what you were I could have saved us all some pain."
She shot Sirius a glance - he was looking at her dimly, but there was something in his eyes that told Remus that this was getting through to him, and suddenly he knew what she was going to do and felt a wave of sadness.
Sure enough, she pulled up the sleeve of her robe and revealed the black Dark Mark.
"I'm sorry," she said as Sirius' eyes widened. "But Snape is right." Snape flinched at the use of his name - his last name. "He is coming."
"You," Sirius whispered. "You - and Narcissa, too, and - they told me and I didn't want to believe, I didn't believe it, I thought you were better than that - I thought -"
"You were wrong," Bella said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"We all are," Sirius answered. "How could you do this? To me?" His eyes moved painfully to Andry, and then back to Bellatrix, and the next words were shaken and wracked with so much pain that it seemed he might not live with it. They were soft, and breakable words. "To her?"
Bella looked away, at Narcissa, at Lucius, at Snape, at Remus. Her eyes lingered on him longest, and then fell to the ground. "Can you Disapparate with Andry?" she asked Sirius.
Sirius made a small noise. "Yes," he said in a strangled voice.
"To the Ministry," she said softly, "and we can figure this all out."
With six soft pops, they were gone.
Remus moved through the trees with Sirius silent beside him.
"It's so quiet," Sirius whispered. "Why? She isn't here, Remus. It's too quiet."
Both of them knew Remus' unspoken question. What if she's dead, Sirius?
"But she isn't!" Sirius burst out more loudly. "She isn't, and don't even think she might be, because I'd know! I would know, Remus, I'm sure of it, she was - she was and is my everything, all I have to live for in my family, and I - I would know if Andry was - was -"
There were tears in his voice, and he clearly was not going to continue.
"Yes," Remus said quietly. And then a lie. "I believe you."
Would that hurt more than anything else? Because something in the pit of Remus' stomach was telling him that Andromeda was dead, and he was weeping silently for it. He had never known her as Sirius had, but he had met her. After their fourth year, Sirius and Andry had come over to his house together, after the full moon, and Andromeda had spoken to him knowing what he was and not caring. She had come many times, once even without Sirius, and in the past few years he'd come to know her as his own cousin, his own protector and comforter, as Sirius had known her but more distantly.
And now, he knew, she was probably dead.
A yell through the trees - Lucius' voice - "This way! All of you! We haven't much time, hurry! This way!" And Remus' heart banged against his ribcage angrily, is she alive or dead, tell us, now, prepare us -
But instead of Lucius' voice, the thing that prepared them to see what they were about to see as they raced through the trees was a quiet sobbing, and it was Narcissa's voice saying why why why.
Bella and Severus were just behind them and Bella caught up with Remus in a single burst of speed. Sirius was just ahead and Snape just behind and the two of them were between, running through the trees and stopping right beside Sirius, who was already on the ground next to her body with his face buried in her robes, and Narcissa, whose face was in Lucius' shoulder, as his was in her hair and he stroked it gently, murmering I'm sorry I'm sorry against her sobs of why. Severus was behind them and he simply stopped, and Remus was on his knees behind Sirius and next to Bella, looking at Andromeda's face, which seemed to be made of stone. Her eyes were closed and her mouth only partially open, and her dark hair glimmered in the moonlight. Pale skin, very pale, and there was blood on her fingers, her own from a gash in her hand, but the blood was dried and her skin was cold. Remus had touched it, touched her dead hand, and she was far away by now.
And then Bella was crying, sobbing, and Sirius' head was thrown back and he was howling a dog a wolf a man whose heart is being torn from him, and Lucius was pale and shaking and perhaps crying himself, and Remus was a stone, with Bella's face in his shoulder and Snape's eyes angry on his back, and his arms tight and careful around her, comforting her as she cried and he stared at Andry.
And Sirius' fingers were moving across her face, the face of this dead young woman, the face that was so unlike her because it was without laughter or emotion, except for a radiating deep sadness, a regret, that would never fade.
And she was dead.
Snape's voice, suddenly frightened, "They're coming." And Lucius' voice halting abruptly, and Narcissa taking a great shuddering breath, and Bella stiffening, and Sirius unmoving by her body.
Remus stood slowly, feeling a numb fury and turning to Snape. In a voice of silent steel, "You said it wasn't Him."
"It wasn't," Snape's reply, but wavering, uncertain. "It wasn't."
Lucius echoing it. "It wasn't, Lupin. It wasn't."
And uncontrollable anger. "Then why the hell is she IhereI?"
Sirius' sobs echoing in his ears. Bella's Patronus burned against his eyes. His own fury and greif pounding in his heart, threatening to break down the dam he placed against it time after time.
Lucius helpless, and yes, those were tearstains on his cheeks, his own as well as Narcissa's, perhaps. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be dead -"
But Sirius' gaze had risen, tears pouring down his cheeks, and at Lucius words he screamed, roared, "SHE'S NOT! SHE ISN'T DEAD - ANDRY - I'D KNOW, I NEVER FELT IT, I NEVER KNEW, ANDRY, I'M SORRY -"
"She's dead," Narcissa's voice this time, faint and shaking and wracked with pain.
"NO!" Sirius screamed.
"No," Narcissa echoed, softly, and Bella had moved across next to Sirius, next to her sister.
"She can't be dead," Bella had whispered, and Sirius turned and seized her shoulders, shaking her, SHE ISN'T! SHE ISN'T DEAD, REMUS, TELL THEM, TELL THEM SHE ISN'T DEAD -
"Oh God," Remus heard himself whisper, "Nymphadora. . ."
"NO!" Sirius screamed, still clinging to the front of Bella's robes, but he had stopped shaking her and they were both sobbing, Sirius' voice now quiet she's not dead she's not supposed to be dead she can't be Andry I'm sorry I don't want her to be dead please let me wake up she can't die she's dead oh God Andry -
And Remus felt something break inside his chest, some invisible hand finally break past the dam and squeeze his heart, hard, and he felt a sob rise in his throat.
Just one.
And then the real dam broke.
"They're coming," Snape whispered again. "He's coming. We have to get out."
"The Dark Lord?" Remus whispered. "Voldemort?"
"HE KILLED HER!" Sirius screamed, standing up suddenly and fumbling for his wand. "I'LL KILL HIM!"
"Don't be a fool, Black!" Snape snapped. "We've got to get out of here, now!"
"Where should we take her body?" Remus asked dully.
"No," Sirius moaned, his search for his wand abandoned.
"Anywhere," Snape said, his voice near to frantic. Lucius stood still and pale, and Sirius, still ignoring Snape's attempts to get everyone moving, turned to the other man.
"You knew," he said softly. Lucius didn't move, and Narcissa was looking at him now. "You knew she was dead. You knew, you bastard. And you didn't tell her, did you?" He gestured to Narcissa, who looked over at him instead and then back at Lucius. "You didn't tell us. You knew."
Lucius nodded, slowly, so slowly, and Narcissa let out a wail, and he looked down at her and reached out a hand to touch her face but she pulled away. "No!" she cried. "It's not true! He didn't know, you didn't know, you can't have -"
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"You said you loved me!" she cried out.
"It was the truth," he answered simply.
"I hate you!" she screamed, and he flinched.
"I deserve it," he answered.
"He saved Remus," Bella said quietly. All eyes went to her. She was the only one still next to Andry's body, the only one still kneeling there by her sister. "He saved Remus' life. I'm not going to forget that easily." Snape made an indistinct sound and she looked at him with a sneer. "You, Severus - look at you, standing there coldly. My sister is dead and you don't ever care. IYouI said you loved ImeI, but he does love her." She jerked her head roughly at Lucius and Narcissa. "And maybe he isn't the filth I thought he was. I'm sorry," she added, to Lucius, who nodded once. "I misjudged you. And you," she added to Remus, who was staring at her. "I took you for a fool, and you aren't. And you," she said to Sirius, and then to Narcissa, "and you, too, and I'm sorry. And I'm also sorry that I misjudged you." The last was to Snape, who was standing stiffly and staring at her. "Because if I'd realized what you were I could have saved us all some pain."
She shot Sirius a glance - he was looking at her dimly, but there was something in his eyes that told Remus that this was getting through to him, and suddenly he knew what she was going to do and felt a wave of sadness.
Sure enough, she pulled up the sleeve of her robe and revealed the black Dark Mark.
"I'm sorry," she said as Sirius' eyes widened. "But Snape is right." Snape flinched at the use of his name - his last name. "He is coming."
"You," Sirius whispered. "You - and Narcissa, too, and - they told me and I didn't want to believe, I didn't believe it, I thought you were better than that - I thought -"
"You were wrong," Bella said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"We all are," Sirius answered. "How could you do this? To me?" His eyes moved painfully to Andry, and then back to Bellatrix, and the next words were shaken and wracked with so much pain that it seemed he might not live with it. They were soft, and breakable words. "To her?"
Bella looked away, at Narcissa, at Lucius, at Snape, at Remus. Her eyes lingered on him longest, and then fell to the ground. "Can you Disapparate with Andry?" she asked Sirius.
Sirius made a small noise. "Yes," he said in a strangled voice.
"To the Ministry," she said softly, "and we can figure this all out."
With six soft pops, they were gone.
