Chapter 5
Ok, I lied, this one's short too and so is the last one. But it didn't need much to wrap it up anyway... cowers Don't hurt me!
Lucius allowed Snape to apparate first, the two agreeing that it was best that they not appear to be together. Snape went immediately to the Dark Lord, his story prepared. He was to tell Voldemort that Dumbledore had called for an early meeting before the usual staff meeting about the number of Slytherins sneaking out. He would explain that his missing this meeting that he had just agreed to would look very suspicious to the Headmaster. Voldemort would excuse him; he wasn't willing to allow his favorite spy to be compromised over a simple punishment meeting.
He waited a few minutes before appearing at the site of the Deatheater meeting. Idly he wondered what he was being punished for, exactly, but quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant. Voldemort hardly needed a reason to inflict bodily harm on one of his followers. If there was nothing to punish, he would simply create something. Lucius walked confidently into the dark wooded clearing. Judging by the flora and fauna, they were somewhere in the Black Forest. Many of the Deatheaters had not arrived yet, but a fire had been started in the middle of the incomplete circle. Voldemort stood at the front if it, as usual. He did not like for attention to be diverted from himself for any reason.
It took a good fifteen minutes for all of the Deatheaters to arrive. Lucius waited patiently, knowing that Voldemort would not begin until they had all checked in. He liked to have a large audience for his public torture sessions. Finally he raised his arms for quiet and stepped more fully into the firelight. "I have called you here, so soon after our last gathering, because of some disturbing evidence," he began, his voice low and seductive. Lord Voldemort had ever been skilled at oration. "One of our own, the most trustworthy of our inner circle, has done something quite unforgivable." He pushed back his hood, a signal for everyone else to remove their masks. Surreptitiously, Lucius cast his eyes around the faces that were exposed and was relieved to find Snape missing from the group. He barely had time to pull his eyes back to his Master before the first crucio hit him. Voldemort liked to be spontaneous.
Lucius fell backward onto the ground, writhing as a millions white hot needles pierced every inch of his body. Through great effort and a lifetime of training, he kept himself from crying out. He heard more than felt his left eardrum burst and he had nearly bitten a whole in his lip by the time the pain abated enough for him to stand. The others were watching him, all carefully concealing any pity or pleasure they might be feeling. No one wanted to be next. Voldemort was looming over him, his wand still out. Clearly there was more to be anticipated tonight than a simple crucio. Lucius stood, swaying slightly, and spat the blood out of his mouth. With a cocky grin, made all the more gruesome by the blood on his teeth, he clenched the potion in his left pocket. "You know, Voldemort," he said conversationally, appreciating the uncomprehending anger in his Master's eyes, "I think I'm bored now." And with that he crushed the potion in his robes.
In the moments before one dies, many things are said to happen. Your whole life is supposed to flash before your eyes. And perhaps it did, Lucius Malfoy was hardly paying attention. He was conscious only of a strange warmth and then a total absence of pain. His last thoughts were of his family, Draco, Narcissa, and the new one who's name he would never know.
Ok, I lied, this one's short too and so is the last one. But it didn't need much to wrap it up anyway... cowers Don't hurt me!
Lucius allowed Snape to apparate first, the two agreeing that it was best that they not appear to be together. Snape went immediately to the Dark Lord, his story prepared. He was to tell Voldemort that Dumbledore had called for an early meeting before the usual staff meeting about the number of Slytherins sneaking out. He would explain that his missing this meeting that he had just agreed to would look very suspicious to the Headmaster. Voldemort would excuse him; he wasn't willing to allow his favorite spy to be compromised over a simple punishment meeting.
He waited a few minutes before appearing at the site of the Deatheater meeting. Idly he wondered what he was being punished for, exactly, but quickly dismissed the thought as irrelevant. Voldemort hardly needed a reason to inflict bodily harm on one of his followers. If there was nothing to punish, he would simply create something. Lucius walked confidently into the dark wooded clearing. Judging by the flora and fauna, they were somewhere in the Black Forest. Many of the Deatheaters had not arrived yet, but a fire had been started in the middle of the incomplete circle. Voldemort stood at the front if it, as usual. He did not like for attention to be diverted from himself for any reason.
It took a good fifteen minutes for all of the Deatheaters to arrive. Lucius waited patiently, knowing that Voldemort would not begin until they had all checked in. He liked to have a large audience for his public torture sessions. Finally he raised his arms for quiet and stepped more fully into the firelight. "I have called you here, so soon after our last gathering, because of some disturbing evidence," he began, his voice low and seductive. Lord Voldemort had ever been skilled at oration. "One of our own, the most trustworthy of our inner circle, has done something quite unforgivable." He pushed back his hood, a signal for everyone else to remove their masks. Surreptitiously, Lucius cast his eyes around the faces that were exposed and was relieved to find Snape missing from the group. He barely had time to pull his eyes back to his Master before the first crucio hit him. Voldemort liked to be spontaneous.
Lucius fell backward onto the ground, writhing as a millions white hot needles pierced every inch of his body. Through great effort and a lifetime of training, he kept himself from crying out. He heard more than felt his left eardrum burst and he had nearly bitten a whole in his lip by the time the pain abated enough for him to stand. The others were watching him, all carefully concealing any pity or pleasure they might be feeling. No one wanted to be next. Voldemort was looming over him, his wand still out. Clearly there was more to be anticipated tonight than a simple crucio. Lucius stood, swaying slightly, and spat the blood out of his mouth. With a cocky grin, made all the more gruesome by the blood on his teeth, he clenched the potion in his left pocket. "You know, Voldemort," he said conversationally, appreciating the uncomprehending anger in his Master's eyes, "I think I'm bored now." And with that he crushed the potion in his robes.
In the moments before one dies, many things are said to happen. Your whole life is supposed to flash before your eyes. And perhaps it did, Lucius Malfoy was hardly paying attention. He was conscious only of a strange warmth and then a total absence of pain. His last thoughts were of his family, Draco, Narcissa, and the new one who's name he would never know.