Chapter Twelve
Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will own the Harry Potter characters. The idea that anyone who writes on here does is ludicrous. Honestly. Sheesh.
A/N: Well, I am very sorry for the prolonged wait for this chapter. I was working on deciding where my plot with all of this was going, and ran into a few snags here and there. Hopefully, I have managed to get them worked out. Not a very thrilling chapter, this one, but there you go. In order for things to happen, there has to be the slightly boring chapter that comes before the exciting ones. Although, I do like some bits of it. Writing conversations is great fun, I always like to see their responses and reactions. I will cease talking now, before you feel compelled to throw something at me. Here you go! Review!!!!!!!!!! Or suffer the consequences….bwah hahahaha.
~~**~~
Chapter Twelve
"What do you fear most, Mr. Potter?" The voice was icy, sardonic. The dim light of the chamber added little help in hiding the man's features, for they were already shrouded by a mask. The mask of a Death Eater….a grotesque veil of evil. This man's eyes were indifferent, apathetic to pain, to life. His existence thrived on following orders; this was merely perfunctory. It was all part of the grand spectrum. Serve and follow. Live and die. It was amazingly simple. He stared at the battered man before him.
"Shall I ask you once more? What do you fear most?"
The man did not answer. He was growing frustrated. Standing so proudly, as if he were nobility. He would answer…..he would be forced to answer.
A sharp blow to the face brought blood trickling from the corner of the man's mouth, yet he remained unmoved. He merely retuned the stare, his eyes never conveying either anger or fear, though surely he was afraid. Surely in the presence of a Death Eater, surely standing unarmed, surely he must be breaking down.
"You must have a fear of some kind," the masked man said tauntingly, "perhaps of what is in store for you?"
"If you're asking if I fear death, the answer is no."
"On the contrary, Mr. Potter. I was referring to something far worse than death. You will see that death will begin to look very inviting indeed."
"Will I? And what is in store for you, I wonder? An ongoing path of meek, pathetic obedience? Killing the innocent, taking the lives of those who cannot protect themselves? All the while hiding behind a mask, you cowardly bas-" His words were cut short by another dizzying clout. This time the Death Eater raised his wand, aiming it steadily, locking eyes with the prisoner, fury boiling inside him.
Outside, in the dank corridor, one word rang clear. Crucio.
~~**~~
James propelled himself from Lily, and in thus doing so, managed to fall to the floor in a heap, his glasses jolted askew. Both he and Lily met with startled expressions the face of Sirius Black.
For a moment, it was a battle of staring.
Sirius glanced between the two, observing Lily, who was now quite disheveled and blushing furiously, and James, sprawled in surprise on the floor. A rather large grin spread on his face.
"Bad timing?"
James adjusted his glasses, "Incredibly."
Lily avoided Sirius's eyes. She could tell he was on the verge of a wild fit of laughter and feared that she might trigger it. Determined to not glance his way, she focused on James, feeling her skin grow a few shades deeper red as her embarrassment grew.
"Ah, well I didn't expect…" he threw a sidelong look at Lily, "this."
"The same thing could be said about you, mate," James muttered, climbing to his feet. "You picked a hell of time to show concern."
"If I'd known you were being 'comforted' I wouldn't have bothered."
Lily cleared her throat, throwing a sharp look at Sirius. "Would you like me to leave, or shall I sit here and listen?"
"No."
"Sure." Sirius's comment was almost simultaneous with James's, creating an odd effect. From her seat on the couch, Lily muttered something indistinguishable and made to get up, as the two friends bickered on.
"Wait," James commanded, "just stop."
Both Lily and James quieted at the tone of his voice. He was obviously weary of this…weary and irritated. He sank into a chair.
"I didn't expect to have to deal with any questions for at least a few hours," he said, "But I can see I'm going to have to answer a couple."
"Starting with, 'what in Merlin's name is going on?'," Sirius grunted.
James nodded, "I'd say that would be a very good starting point."
~~**~~
"So how did you manage you melt the Ice Queen, Prongs?" Sirius leaned with one arm against the fireplace mantle, flashing a suggestive grin at Lily. For a moment, she hoped his robes would catch fire. He caught her vindictive glare and smiled. "Sorry, your Highness."
"You and Evans…would have never thought I'd walk in on the pair of you," he continued, "bout' the least likely thing I'd expect."
"Must you keep bringing that up," Lily asked.
Sirius shrugged, "I find it amusing. The look on your faces." He imitated James's startled expression with amazing accuracy, forcing her to smile.
James raised his eyebrows, "I did not look like that."
"No, I think your eyes may have been a bit wider."
"Glad you can get your jollies from all this," James muttered, "You'll have hell to pay later."
"Ah, well, I took the risk. Besides, wouldn't be right of me if I let you go mad." Sirius flopped down onto a nearby chair, "I don't feel like making repeated visits to St. Mungo's."
"For once I agree with him," Lily said, nudging James, "At least you have our concerned."
"How touching," Sirius retorted, wiping a mock tear from his eye.
"Have you ever heard of the Union of Secrecy?" James's comment had come from nowhere, and caught his friend off-guard.
"No, why?"
"Just thinking…my father was part of it. Now I'm starting to wonder what else the man had up his sleeve."
"Or has," Lily said gently.
He sighed, "Let's face facts on this. The chance that he is actually alive are very slim. If he is, don't you think he would have turned up by now?"
Lily frowned. "I think if he was dead he would have turned up by now."
Sirius had grown solemn, but he said, "Is your mum under some sort of protection?"
"Yeah, the ministry is seeing to that, at least. You're getting at something?"
"Were there any other people in on this whole Union thing?" His eyes revealed the determination with which he was piecing everything together.
James nodded, "I know where you're going with this. Yes, the other two that didn't manage to get away. One's dead, we know that much. It does seem very deliberate, doesn't it? Believe me, I've been trying to explain it to myself."
Lily leaned forward, "Clearly something isn't right with all of this. Think about it. Five people go to face what is supposed to be a few Death Eaters, wind up finding much more than they expected, and realizing they are extremely outnumbered, try to escape. Somehow, in all of the commotion, two manage to get away. The two who aren't members of the Union. Seems a bit odd."
"You're bloody right it does," Sirius said gruffly, "For all we know, those two could have set the whole thing up."
"I don't think so," James objected, "It would be too obvious. But you can be damned sure someone is leaking out information, whether from within the Ministry or the Union."
"You said it yourself, one of the members is dead," Sirius said.
"That doesn't mean anything. Whoever it is, or they, I'm sure the main concern isn't the life of one member."
"Of course, I'm sure those blundering idiots at the Ministry haven't yet worked that out," said Lily crossly.
"Even if they had, we wouldn't know about it, would we?" Sirius told them, "We're in the dark here."
"Dumbledore was very careful about not mentioning names," James added, "He didn't really let anything slip."
"Probably figured you'd be doing exactly what you are now," Sirius said, "If he'd given you names, he knew you would have done something, contact them, start asking a lot of questions."
"I doubt anyone would tell you anything useful. How easy would it be to get information from a member of something called, 'the Union of Secrecy'?" Lily sighed.
"Perhaps it depends on who you're talking to," James said.
~~**~~
Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will own the Harry Potter characters. The idea that anyone who writes on here does is ludicrous. Honestly. Sheesh.
A/N: Well, I am very sorry for the prolonged wait for this chapter. I was working on deciding where my plot with all of this was going, and ran into a few snags here and there. Hopefully, I have managed to get them worked out. Not a very thrilling chapter, this one, but there you go. In order for things to happen, there has to be the slightly boring chapter that comes before the exciting ones. Although, I do like some bits of it. Writing conversations is great fun, I always like to see their responses and reactions. I will cease talking now, before you feel compelled to throw something at me. Here you go! Review!!!!!!!!!! Or suffer the consequences….bwah hahahaha.
~~**~~
Chapter Twelve
"What do you fear most, Mr. Potter?" The voice was icy, sardonic. The dim light of the chamber added little help in hiding the man's features, for they were already shrouded by a mask. The mask of a Death Eater….a grotesque veil of evil. This man's eyes were indifferent, apathetic to pain, to life. His existence thrived on following orders; this was merely perfunctory. It was all part of the grand spectrum. Serve and follow. Live and die. It was amazingly simple. He stared at the battered man before him.
"Shall I ask you once more? What do you fear most?"
The man did not answer. He was growing frustrated. Standing so proudly, as if he were nobility. He would answer…..he would be forced to answer.
A sharp blow to the face brought blood trickling from the corner of the man's mouth, yet he remained unmoved. He merely retuned the stare, his eyes never conveying either anger or fear, though surely he was afraid. Surely in the presence of a Death Eater, surely standing unarmed, surely he must be breaking down.
"You must have a fear of some kind," the masked man said tauntingly, "perhaps of what is in store for you?"
"If you're asking if I fear death, the answer is no."
"On the contrary, Mr. Potter. I was referring to something far worse than death. You will see that death will begin to look very inviting indeed."
"Will I? And what is in store for you, I wonder? An ongoing path of meek, pathetic obedience? Killing the innocent, taking the lives of those who cannot protect themselves? All the while hiding behind a mask, you cowardly bas-" His words were cut short by another dizzying clout. This time the Death Eater raised his wand, aiming it steadily, locking eyes with the prisoner, fury boiling inside him.
Outside, in the dank corridor, one word rang clear. Crucio.
~~**~~
James propelled himself from Lily, and in thus doing so, managed to fall to the floor in a heap, his glasses jolted askew. Both he and Lily met with startled expressions the face of Sirius Black.
For a moment, it was a battle of staring.
Sirius glanced between the two, observing Lily, who was now quite disheveled and blushing furiously, and James, sprawled in surprise on the floor. A rather large grin spread on his face.
"Bad timing?"
James adjusted his glasses, "Incredibly."
Lily avoided Sirius's eyes. She could tell he was on the verge of a wild fit of laughter and feared that she might trigger it. Determined to not glance his way, she focused on James, feeling her skin grow a few shades deeper red as her embarrassment grew.
"Ah, well I didn't expect…" he threw a sidelong look at Lily, "this."
"The same thing could be said about you, mate," James muttered, climbing to his feet. "You picked a hell of time to show concern."
"If I'd known you were being 'comforted' I wouldn't have bothered."
Lily cleared her throat, throwing a sharp look at Sirius. "Would you like me to leave, or shall I sit here and listen?"
"No."
"Sure." Sirius's comment was almost simultaneous with James's, creating an odd effect. From her seat on the couch, Lily muttered something indistinguishable and made to get up, as the two friends bickered on.
"Wait," James commanded, "just stop."
Both Lily and James quieted at the tone of his voice. He was obviously weary of this…weary and irritated. He sank into a chair.
"I didn't expect to have to deal with any questions for at least a few hours," he said, "But I can see I'm going to have to answer a couple."
"Starting with, 'what in Merlin's name is going on?'," Sirius grunted.
James nodded, "I'd say that would be a very good starting point."
~~**~~
"So how did you manage you melt the Ice Queen, Prongs?" Sirius leaned with one arm against the fireplace mantle, flashing a suggestive grin at Lily. For a moment, she hoped his robes would catch fire. He caught her vindictive glare and smiled. "Sorry, your Highness."
"You and Evans…would have never thought I'd walk in on the pair of you," he continued, "bout' the least likely thing I'd expect."
"Must you keep bringing that up," Lily asked.
Sirius shrugged, "I find it amusing. The look on your faces." He imitated James's startled expression with amazing accuracy, forcing her to smile.
James raised his eyebrows, "I did not look like that."
"No, I think your eyes may have been a bit wider."
"Glad you can get your jollies from all this," James muttered, "You'll have hell to pay later."
"Ah, well, I took the risk. Besides, wouldn't be right of me if I let you go mad." Sirius flopped down onto a nearby chair, "I don't feel like making repeated visits to St. Mungo's."
"For once I agree with him," Lily said, nudging James, "At least you have our concerned."
"How touching," Sirius retorted, wiping a mock tear from his eye.
"Have you ever heard of the Union of Secrecy?" James's comment had come from nowhere, and caught his friend off-guard.
"No, why?"
"Just thinking…my father was part of it. Now I'm starting to wonder what else the man had up his sleeve."
"Or has," Lily said gently.
He sighed, "Let's face facts on this. The chance that he is actually alive are very slim. If he is, don't you think he would have turned up by now?"
Lily frowned. "I think if he was dead he would have turned up by now."
Sirius had grown solemn, but he said, "Is your mum under some sort of protection?"
"Yeah, the ministry is seeing to that, at least. You're getting at something?"
"Were there any other people in on this whole Union thing?" His eyes revealed the determination with which he was piecing everything together.
James nodded, "I know where you're going with this. Yes, the other two that didn't manage to get away. One's dead, we know that much. It does seem very deliberate, doesn't it? Believe me, I've been trying to explain it to myself."
Lily leaned forward, "Clearly something isn't right with all of this. Think about it. Five people go to face what is supposed to be a few Death Eaters, wind up finding much more than they expected, and realizing they are extremely outnumbered, try to escape. Somehow, in all of the commotion, two manage to get away. The two who aren't members of the Union. Seems a bit odd."
"You're bloody right it does," Sirius said gruffly, "For all we know, those two could have set the whole thing up."
"I don't think so," James objected, "It would be too obvious. But you can be damned sure someone is leaking out information, whether from within the Ministry or the Union."
"You said it yourself, one of the members is dead," Sirius said.
"That doesn't mean anything. Whoever it is, or they, I'm sure the main concern isn't the life of one member."
"Of course, I'm sure those blundering idiots at the Ministry haven't yet worked that out," said Lily crossly.
"Even if they had, we wouldn't know about it, would we?" Sirius told them, "We're in the dark here."
"Dumbledore was very careful about not mentioning names," James added, "He didn't really let anything slip."
"Probably figured you'd be doing exactly what you are now," Sirius said, "If he'd given you names, he knew you would have done something, contact them, start asking a lot of questions."
"I doubt anyone would tell you anything useful. How easy would it be to get information from a member of something called, 'the Union of Secrecy'?" Lily sighed.
"Perhaps it depends on who you're talking to," James said.
~~**~~
