Chapter Twenty-Six: History Repeats
The black clad Death Eaters all had their wands in their hands and trained in the direction of the surprised couple. They stood there unmoving behind their ghoulish masks like a terrifying army of the dead. The first thing to fly through Evangeline's brain, as she contemplated this unwelcoming committee, was…thank goodness we destroyed my father's research instead of bringing it with us…the second thing was, how horrid to lay eyes on Lucius Malfoy again. Life was just one joy after another lately.
Malfoy's eyes gleamed as they alighted on the newly arrived couple, and he sneered gleefully. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the much sought after Mr. and Mrs. Snape. Fancy meeting you here."
Snape stiffened at the sight of his most hated enemy and immediately pulled Evangeline closer to him before she could drop his hand and possibly move away out of his reach, putting herself within Malfoy's grasp. Then he stepped in front of her and confronted Malfoy with his best sneer on his face. "How disappointing to see you again, Lucius. I guess the security at Azkaban isn't what it used to be."
Malfoy raised an elegant eyebrow at his remark. "Oh, are you perhaps under the mistaken impression that I escaped from that hellhole, Severus? Oh my, no. Money and connections do still count for something in this world. It took far too long, but I've been released. It was all a big misunderstanding, you see, all charges have been dropped. I am a free man. Much as you are it seems. A pity. It did my heart good to hear of your incarceration, traitor, a shame that you weaseled out of it before your ultimate execution. Perhaps that little detail can be taken care of this time around. It's certainly an event that I'd pay good money to watch, or perhaps participate in."
"How could you possibly get the murder charges dropped, Lucius? Or the charges for the use of the Unforgivable curses, either?" Evangeline exclaimed in horror, unable to believe her ears. This man had viciously murdered two of her friends in cold blood, certainly this miscarriage of justice couldn't be real.
Malfoy smirked at her as he spread his arms in a gesture of innocence. "As I said, my dear, it was just a misunderstanding. Apparently my deluded employee, Edward Sharp, killed his poor wife and then killed himself in a fit of remorse. It's all so very heart breaking, isn't it? He forced me to impersonate her by using the Imperius curse on me to hide his crime. Then he poured polyjuice potion down my throat very much against my will, but what could I do? My will was simply not my own anymore. You see I'm the true victim here."
Unable to listen quietly to this absolute drivel any longer, Lupin took a step forward angrily as all attention and wands swiveled in his direction at his movement. "The only one who was under the effects of the Imperius curse was me, Malfoy. As you well know since you put it there. And I watched you use Cruciatus on Evangeline. How could they possibly ignore that?"
Malfoy shrugged negligently turning a smug face to the outraged wizard. "It was my word against that of a hysterical injured woman and a werewolf. Who do you suppose they were going to believe? I am an upstanding citizen from one of the community's oldest…and wealthiest families, and I'd been shockingly abused by this insane young man. No fault could possibly be laid at my door! You aren't even human! Your position within wizarding society is questionable at best. Then there's the simple fact that you were the one who raped the lovely Mrs. Snape, not me, and obviously her horrible injuries were attributable to you as well. I wouldn't be surprised if you weren't the one in Azkaban very shortly, werewolf. Do ask for a cell on the north side, it tends to be quieter, if a trifle more chilly."
He turned away from the incensed Lupin to sneer nastily once more at Snape. "I'll admit I'm rather shocked to see the company you're keeping these days. I'd hardly associate with an animal that had made love to my wife…more than once from what I understand, but then it seems I can no longer anticipate how you think, Severus. And to think I once thought I knew you so well."
Snape raised an eyebrow and commented dryly. "Yes, Lucius…you thought you knew me."
Malfoy shook his head sadly and heaved a theatrical sigh. "Yes, it appears that is indeed the case. I've been sadly deceived by you, too. Such a disappointment."
Malfoy allowed his eager gaze to slide away from the Potions Master and fasten on his wife. He smirked lasciviously and boldly looked her up and down. "I must say it's wonderful to see you again, my dear. You look as lovely as ever. I'm sure that you'll be happy to hear that not only has my Lord seen fit to restore me to freedom, but he has also granted me a return of the potency that your husband thought he'd deprived me of forever. So I am very much looking forward to an intimate reunion with you before I turn you over to Lord Voldemort. Perhaps this time your husband and your werewolf lover will both enjoy watching the show. I'll show them how a real man treats a woman like you, Evangeline."
Evangeline began to tremble fearfully as she was enveloped by a wave of nausea. Involuntarily she reached out and clutched at the back of Severus' robe blindly seeking his protection. "No…not again. Please…" she whispered painfully as cruel sharp visions of Malfoy's previous attentions to her flashed before her eyes.
Snape extended a protective arm behind him as his insides twisted at the thought of Malfoy touching his beloved wife again, and he began to look around him for some means of escape. Suddenly an infuriated Remus Lupin drew his wand and fired angrily, but unfortunately not accurately, at Malfoy, whose attention had been focused entirely on Evangeline and Severus. Once the first shot had been fired all hell broke loose as Snape and Evangeline also drew their wands and curses and hexes began to flash back and forth within the somewhat confined space of the room.
Snape grabbed Evangeline and shoved her toward the painting of her mother.
"Run, Evangeline…don't argue for once, get to that painting and get out of here! Lupin and I will hold them off for as long as we can." Snape ducked as a sparkling stream of red flew over his head.
Evangeline flung a curse at one of the Death Eaters who threw himself behind a chair to get out of her way. "I can't just abandon the two of you!"
Remus reached out with a free hand, grabbed her arm, and shoved her closer to the wall where the painting hung tantalizingly promising escape. "Yes, you can, Angel! Severus is right. Leave this to us. Get out as fast as you can. Send help if possible, but go…NOW!" As he released her, he conjured up a shield spell to deflect two streams of colorful magic that darted their way.
Evangeline didn't want to leave them in the middle of all this, but she knew that continuing to argue was only going to get them all killed. They couldn't afford to continue to keep splitting their concentration like this, especially while they were out numbered. So without further argument, she extended an arm and headed for the painting that would lead her out of there to safety. Before she could reach it, though, one of the closest Death Eaters jumped in front of her and a stream of fiery red magic cut a burning path across her left forearm, causing her to scream and pull her arm back close to her body.
No longer able to reach her sanctuary painting, she veered across the room to escape the clutches of the Death Eater as he lunged for her and headed out through the French doors that now stood wide open having given Malfoy and his army of thugs access to her family home.
Without hesitation she fled through the doors heading out towards the lawn while the sounds of battle pursued her. Her foot caught on the uneven edge of the long neglected flagstone terrace, and she lost her wand in the rather overgrown grass as she fell, but hearing someone in close pursuit, she knew she didn't have time to look for it, so she simply picked herself up and ran blindly onward as fast as she could go, not paying much attention to the direction she took. Getting away from Malfoy was all that possessed her thoughts. The thought of having him touch her again horrified her beyond measure. There was only one pair of hands that she ever wanted on her body again…only one, and if she couldn't have them, then she'd have no one else's. No matter what she had to do to avoid it…there was no way in hell that Lucius Malfoy was ever going to touch her again!
Everyone straggled out of the house after Evangeline who was certainly the Dark Lord's more favored prize at the moment. Malfoy was hot on her footsteps followed by three of his masked goons. The other three aided their leader by keeping Lupin and Snape busy back on the terrace and preventing them from interfering in her capture. The two wizards had seen Evangeline thwarted in her attempt to get away through the painting and had endeavored to give her cover for another try at escape, but had been forced to stay behind and deal with Malfoy's subordinates before they could truly go to her aid.
Once she'd headed for the doors, both men had attempted to follow to keep Malfoy from getting his hands on her. They'd seen Evangeline fall and were immensely relieved to see her pick herself up and run off. However, Malfoy was right behind her, and Snape was particularly dismayed to see the direction she took out across the open lawn. Both he and Lupin fought savagely, trying to quickly put an end to their opponents. Knowing that Evangeline was severely outmatched with four Death Eaters on her tail was tremendous motivation for both of them. The remaining Death Eaters fought tenaciously, though, and it took some little time to put an end to them.
Their nasty battle was actually fairly swift and quite ugly. No one escaped unscathed, but when it was over, Snape and Lupin were both standing with relatively minor wounds, unlike their three opponents who lay scattered about the terrace like broken dolls. The two anxious wizards turned as one to pursue Evangeline, but before they could move Lupin bent down and picked something up off the ground.
"Severus! It's one of the Portkeys. Evangeline must've dropped it when she fell." His sharp eyes fell on something else in the grass near his feet, and he bent over again with a groan of despair. "Damn it! Here's her wand, too. She's trapped. There's no way for her to get away from them without either the Portkey or her wand."
With fear striking deeply into both of them, they whirled around and took off, running as fast as they could after Evangeline and her pursuers.
Meanwhile, Evangeline was beginning to realize that she'd made a mistake…a potentially deadly mistake. Her pursuers had herded her forward, not allowing her to change directions and suddenly her feet met solid rock instead of dirt and grass, and she found herself where her mother had been before her, on the edge of a high rocky cliff facing the unforgiving sea, which pounded heavily on the rocks below her feet.
Staring down at the churning ocean made her dizzy, and she whirled around to see if she could head in another direction, but it was too late. Standing on the edge of the grass facing her with a monstrous smile on his cold handsome face was Lucius Malfoy. His Death Eater companions spread out behind him like spiky black webbing, cutting off all possible avenues of escape.
"Well, well, well, history repeats itself, doesn't it, my dear?" Malfoy smiled maliciously and took a step towards her, his flaxen hair gleaming in reflected glory.
Backlit by the setting sun, she took a step behind her, balancing precariously on the very edge of the cliff with nothing but ocean, rocks, and sky at her back. "That remains to be seen, Lucius. If you keep coming forward, then yes, history will indeed repeat itself, for I will not allow you to turn me over to that monster you serve, and I'd much rather die than ever allow you to touch me again."
Malfoy's aristocratic face twisted into a phony sympathetic smile. "Oh, I'd truly hate for that to happen, Evangeline. Your mother was such a beautiful woman. It was a dreadful waste to watch her kill herself instead of joining us. You've always seemed to be such a practical creature. Surely you can see how useless your death would be. In the greater scheme of things it won't stop Lord Voldemort from achieving his ultimate goals. The only loss will be to you. Why waste your life when there's so much more you could accomplish by joining us? Have more sense than your mother, Evangeline. Don't kill yourself needlessly."
Evangeline stared in horror at Malfoy and whispered hoarsely. "You were there? You helped to kill my mother?"
Malfoy's smile widened and his voice took on a mocking tone. "Oh, didn't dear Severus tell you? Yes, I was front row center at that little show, just as I am now. Your husband was there as well, you know, bringing up the rear then. As I suspect he is now."
Malfoy glanced quickly over his shoulder just in time to see Snape and Lupin running up behind the line of Death Eaters. "Ah, yes. Better late than never, I suppose. Well, Severus. How does it feel to see history repeat itself? It appears that you may have a front row seat at the death of both your wife and her mother, how many loving husbands can say that, eh?"
Snape skidded to a stop in the overgrown grass as all three of the masked Death Eaters whirled around as his approach and trained their wands on he and Lupin. Angry helplessness overwhelmed him as he realized that he couldn't possibly bring down all of them, even with Lupin's help, in time to stop Evangeline from falling by her own choice or at Malfoy's hands.
"Get away from her, Lucius, or I swear I'll kill you as I should have the last time I had my hands around your miserable neck!" Snape yelled in frustration.
"Empty words, I'm afraid, my old friend. We both know it. You had your chance, and you chose to be merciful. How very un-Slytherin of you. They've tamed you, Severus. Are you Dumbledore's little pet snake now? How sad for you. It's all such a waste of talent and ability. The lion will never truly trust the snake, you know."
"You're hardly the one to be talking about trust, Lucius. I've seldom met a less trustworthy person than you." Snape sneered; wanting nothing more than to once more have his hands around Malfoy's neck.
Malfoy nodded his head sadly and placed a well-manicured hand over his heart. "You wound me to the quick, Severus. I'm a very honorable man, after all. I try very hard to keep my word in all things."
Frustrated at his inability to get his hands on Malfoy, Snape focused all his attention on the appalling sight of his wife standing on the edge of the cliff as the brisk wind tore at her hair and gown and whipped them around her while the setting sun at her back surrounded her with its fiery halo. Cruel memories of the past mixed with the agonies of the present as he sought uselessly to find some way to prevent this horror from occurring again, even more painfully than before. This couldn't be allowed to happen! Somehow he had to find a way out of this dilemma. Her life couldn't be allowed to end this way…it was too precious to be wasted by such scum as Malfoy. He couldn't fail her again…not like this! He couldn't!
Evangeline stared back across the lawn at her husband as he watched her with an expression of pure agony on his face. He held his wand tightly in his hand and his body twitched with suppressed anxiety and frustration as he tried to decide how to stop this nightmare from happening.
Despite her precarious position, she felt love and happiness spread through her being like warmth from a fire. He still loved her! No matter what he said, no matter how much he pushed her away…he still loved her! It was written all over his face. She could no longer have any doubt. No one could look like that and not care about the person they were looking at. All the fear and desolation she'd been feeling for the last couple of days vanished in an instant. If Severus still loved her then she could handle anything…even death, if necessary.
With a new feeling of determination, she straightened up and faced Malfoy's mocking visage once more. "My death wouldn't be useless if it gave Voldemort even the tiniest moment of frustration, Lucius. You've hardly worried about causing him aggravation, yourself. The last time we were together you took great pains to cause my death. Now suddenly you want me to live? Forgive me for not believing you."
"My Lord understands that that was a momentary lapse on my part, brought on by my need to avenge myself on your loving husband for the damage I suffered at his hands. Damage that Lord Voldemort, in his benevolence, has repaired. I serve only his desires now, my dear, I assure you. He wants you unharmed. If you give yourself up to me, I'll personally ensure your safety. You have my word of honor as a wizard."
"And we all know how much that's worth, don't we Lucius? And Severus and Remus? Will you personally ensure their safety as well?"
Malfoy spread his hands reluctantly and appealed to her. "My Lord might have a use for the werewolf if he was willing to cooperate, but I'm afraid your husband has rather tried Lord Voldemort's patience. I will, of course, do my very best to assure his safety, but I may not be able to save him. I believe my Lord said something about truly separating his head from his body this time. I think he has a polished spike reserved for Severus' final resting place." The blond wizard let his eyes flick over to the anxious form of his enemy to gauge his reaction to his words, but Snape's entire focus remained riveted on his wife as she stood on the edge of oblivion.
With a flash of annoyance at failing to unsettle his opponent, Malfoy returned his gaze to Evangeline and a malicious smile quirked the corners of his lips. "Frankly I'm a little surprised that his fate should matter to you. It was my understanding that the two of you were somewhat estranged, and that you'd transferred your affections to the werewolf. His lovemaking must've made quite the impression on you. I'll have to remember that you like things rough."
Evangeline shivered at Malfoy's words. Draco strikes again. Of course, he's been keeping his father up to date on the latest news from Hogwarts. Well, Malfoy was going to be disappointed if he thought he was going to get a chance to hurt her again. When she'd said that she'd rather die than suffer the agony of having his hands on her body once more, she'd meant every word. Time to end this painful standoff while she still had some control over the situation. An easy escape wasn't possible for her, it seemed, but if she could distract Malfoy, then Severus and Remus should be able to escape without too much difficulty. It was the only thing she could do, and their survival was so much more important than hers was.
She glanced briefly at Remus who looked as agonized and frustrated as Severus, and then she locked her eyes with her husband's, drinking in the sight of him to give her the courage to give her only option a try. Her only regret was that she wouldn't get to touch him one more time. As she smiled lovingly at Snape, she spoke in a strong clear voice. "Severus' fate will always matter to me. I love him. Through all eternity I will always love him. I can't trust you, Lucius, and I'd never help Voldemort in any way. My mother was a very brave and intelligent woman. She made the right choice…can I possibly do any differently?"
With a smile for Severus that rivaled the setting sun for its brilliance, she stepped behind her off the edge of the cliff and vanished from sight. As his much sought after prize disappeared before his eyes, Malfoy ran forward and stared after her as she plummeted toward the rocks below.
His worst nightmare realized, Snape screamed, "No!" in a horrified tone of voice, and aiming his wand at the much hated Malfoy, cast a curse that hit the startled wizard in the back and sent him careening over the edge of the cliff after Evangeline.
As the other Death Eaters came to their senses, they turned back from gaping at their leader's awkward swan dive from the cliff and aimed their wands once more at Snape, who simply stood there in a daze with his wand dangling uselessly from a limp hand …waiting for death. Welcoming its final release from the agony that his life had become.
Realizing that Snape meant to simply let them kill him, Lupin muttered a strangled curse and leaped on top of the seemingly paralyzed wizard, bringing him crashing to the ground beneath him. As the air filled with sizzling streams of green magic and unforgivable curses issued from three furious throats, Lupin burst the Portkey bubble he held in his hand and both he and Snape vanished abruptly from the lawn.
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Author's Notes:
Manic: Thank you. What did you think of Lucius?
Jezebel: Severus knows that Evangeline loves him, he just thinks she'd be better off if she loved Remus. He's wrong of course.
Zagzagael: Thank you…especially about the dialogue. :) Malfoy got himself involved when he first kidnapped Evangeline way back in "Is A Picture Worth 1000 Lives?".
Werecat99: Thank you. I hope you enjoyed Lucius.
Snapefan51: Considering some of the wonderful stories out there, that's a wonderful compliment you've given me, and I thank you sincerely. I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story.
Melissa Jooty: As you can see, Malfoy's plans didn't quite go the way he hoped.
Cloudshape: So tell me again how the Death Eaters will prevent Evangeline from jumping off the cliff? :) I don't mean to be sadistic, honest.
Bookwitch: Good. I hoped to startle you with Malfoy. Was there enough action in this chapter?
Arachne's Child: One chapter a week. :) Thanks, I'm glad that you could follow along and get some true understanding of the characters experiences. That means I did my job well when I attempted to explain things. I'm pleased to hear it.
Jasara: Malfoy is quite the party crasher, isn't he?
Sonja: Severus exposed himself as a spy a long time ago. The Death Eaters and Malfoy know exactly where he stands and with whom. I don't intend to stop writing when this story is over, but I won't be writing about Severus and Evangeline anymore for the first time in over a year, at least not right away. It'll feel strange.
Rickfan37: Thank you. My goodness, not you too! I seem to be keeping Kleenex in business. LOL That still seems incomprehensible to me, but I'm glad that you found the chapter affecting. I'm also glad you liked the Knot. It seemed like a neat idea to me.
Lina Lupin: Well, what do you think? Did Severus and Remus acquit themselves adequately against the Death Eaters?
Whale of the World: Destroying her father's work was indeed very hard on Evangeline. She loved her father very deeply and had much admiration for his accomplishments. I'm glad you agree that Madam Pomfrey is a skilled healer…they may need her.
Anyta: I'm sorry that you feel that Evangeline is humiliating herself over Severus. She does feel a sense of desperation where he's concerned. He means the world to her. The thought of losing him a second time is almost more than she can stand. I hope you liked the action.