AN Please Review!! ^_^
Chapter Three.
The Tale Continues.
Murka sat in her gloomy lounge and stared at the dark walls, waiting for her husband to return. True there was no love lost between the two, and Murka could think of a thousand other things she could have been doing. But the very darkness of the age they lived in her chilled her to the bone. Her husband was playing both sides for fools, and neither Dumbledore nor the Dark Lord would be impressed by his conduct. He would be shunned and killed by both sides should either find out.
She sat in the dark, in silent contemplation of her next job. What the dark Lord asked was surely impossible. How could they act on a prophesy that had not yet come clear, a prophesy that had only just been made? And how he could take such a woman seriously was beyond Murka's understanding. But the Dark Lord took any threat against him seriously, regardless of it's size or who was behind it. She sat for a few minutes more in the dark, when the cat came purring around her ankles. She gave it a gentle push with her toe, she had no time for sentimentally petting Vodka.
Suddenly her arm began to burn and she sat up in horror. Vodka watched through his green eyes as she pulled up her sleeve and revealed the burning Dark Mark. Her heart began to flutter as she jumped up and threw on her cloak.
"He's done something stupid, I just know it. He's been caught." She shouted to the empty room. "He's dead, he's left me to face the music, the selfish git!" She said, as she gathered herself up in the middle of the room.
After a fearful look at the cat, she took a deep breath and apparated to the side of her Master.
"My Lord?" She inquired, kneeling by his side, her shaking hands gripping his cloak.
He smiled at her. "Murka? Rise."
She stood up, awkwardly. "You called?"
He nodded. "There is something I need doing tonight, I was going to ask your husband, but I believe he is at his Order meeting."
She bobbed her head slightly, not daring to look into his face. She wrought some determination from inside, and raised her head. She couldn't let Herbert down, she couldn't ruin everything now.
"I need someone to accompany Severus to Conifer's Grove."
She had been at the earlier assembly, and knew exactly what he was referring to. It was not exactly her line of work, especially not with Severus, but no one refused the Dark Lord.
Out of the shadows a tall black figure emerged, cloaked and frowning, Severus Snape stood before her.
They walked off together, after bowing to their master.
"How did I end up working with you?" She demanded, as she disapparated.
"Just lucky I guess." He retorted, as he followed suit.
They appeared together down a thin narrow path, lit only by a single flickering lamp post. Murka stuffed her wand inside her pocket with a scowl.
"Lead the way." She said, stepping aside, unwilling to admit ignorance.
"Don't mess this up." He said, softly.
"If there is any messing up, I assure you it will come from your wand and not mine." She retorted.
"Let's got one thing straight. I'm in charge. You do exactly what I say." He said, putting out his arm to halt Murka's passage.
She nodded slowly. "Yes, master." was her reply, as she pushed past him.
"Look I'm not trying to be funny. It's our lives that will be lost if we fail."
"I know." She said. "But I'm sure the Dark Lord could dispense of you far easier then me."
He frowned as she stepped ahead of him, and out into the dim street. It wasn't a very cultured place, nothing compared to the last residence Snape had attacked. The paint from the doors was peeling, the gates hanging off, and the grass was more of a jungle then a lawn. Several windows were boarded in, and a gang of drunken eighteen year olds were standing on the corner.
Murka walked passed them without a glance, whereas Snape paused for a second.
"Wha' yer lookin' at?" was the remark, from a particularly irritable youth.
Murka rolled her eyes as she took hold of his arm and led him away. "I suggest you don't get involved in a muggle fight, you'll end up getting taken away by the 'police'. Then you'll have to explain why you are wearing a cloak and have a wand in your pocket." She hissed.
He pulled free of her. "I am not a coward like you, besides I have enough brains to use my magic to my advantage."
"And be front page of the papers tomorrow? Look, you're right there is a lot at stake tonight, and I don't want to blow it." She said.
He nodded. "At least we agree on something."
She almost smiled. "So what number?"
"Five. But it doesn't look like these houses have numbers." He remarked, staring at the nearest door.
"So it seems, well we'll just have to count. Now how do these muggle streets work again?" She asked, as she began to move along.
They counted along and found the right house. It was almost midnight, when they silently sprung open the front door. The sight that greeted their eyes even made Snape stop in amazement. What had looked a complete dump from the outside was a well-furnished and large modern house on the inside. The hall was elegantly painted and the stairs bordered by an ornately carved banister.
They headed towards the stairs when the chatter of soft voices emerged from the living room. Murka stepped back, she had never done this before.
Snape noted her reluctance with a smirk. He stepped forward and pushed open the door, whilst Murka waited outside. There was a cry of surprise, and the low screaming of a terrified woman.
As she stood there a new sound mingled with the voices from the lounge, the cry of a baby. It was coming from upstairs. After a final look towards the living room, to check Snape didn't need any help, she set one foot on the stairs, took a deep breath and walked up.
It didn't take her long to find the source of the noise, in a beautiful nursery, there was a tiny baby sleeping in a large cot. It was only a few weeks old. She picked it up, and rocked it in her arms, trying to stop it's sobbing.
"Shush." She said, almost harshly. She was in fact annoyed at herself for not having the guts to go into the living room with Snape. She had stood outside and listened whilst he tackled it himself.
A hand fell on her shoulder, and she screamed.
"Snape." She said, angrily.
"It's all sorted. . ." He began, but his voice dropped at the sight of the tiny baby in Murka's arms.
"What should we do with her?" She asked.
He sighed. "The Dark Lord told us to kill all those in the house."
She shook her head, gently. "The sins of the fathers should not be rested on the children. She's a few weeks old!"
Snape tried to take the child from Murka's arms, but the woman stepped back. "Look we killed the traitors, we done what we came to do. But I'm not having this on my conscience."
"What do you mean we? You didn't do much."
"This child could grow to be a servant of the Dark Lord, not an enemy."
"You're going to adopt it?" He sneered, as the battering cries of the infant ceased.
"Hell no!" Murka cried. She set her down back in the cot. "The police'll find her." She said, simply.
Severus smirked. "So if anyone asked, we didn't come upstairs."
"Better act stupid then kind, eh?"
He nodded. "Come on then, let's get back."