Disclaimer/Author Note/Rating: Please see Chapter 1 for full disclaimers, legal info, etc.
Go raibh maith agaibh:
As always, sincere and profound thanks to my regular reviewers for their thoughts and comments. Thanks as well to those who are reading Thunderstruck but haven't left a review (I'd love to hear from you!).
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Chapter 16: Thunder in the Distance
In his London flat, Malificus Malfoy rolled out of bed and stretched languidly. There was no better way to begin a day than with a bit of sporting between the sheets. He walked over to the closet and pulled out something to wear.
"I'm meeting Lucius at noon," he said. "We have some plans to make. I asked him to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron since I have a few things I need to purchase in Diagon Alley. Where does he think you are?" He buttoned his banded collar shirt up to the neck.
Narcissa rolled onto her side. "I left this morning to have a visit with my sister."
"So you went straight from his bed to mine?" He turned back and smiled at her rakishly. "You wicked woman."
"And now I'll go to tea with my sister, all will be well, and none will be the wiser." She slowly got out of the bed and picked up her dress. "It is a shame we can't escape like this more often," she said. "I do so enjoy these little romps."
"As do I," he answered as he buckled his belt. "You're welcome to… visit… more frequently."
"I can't. Not without Lucius becoming suspicious. He has eyes everywhere, you know that, and he would kill us both if he knew about our affair."
"We've kept it secret for years, Narcissa." He threw his cloak over his shoulders. "I'll make sure to tell Lucius to say hello to you for me when I see him." He gave his brother's wife a wink and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
Narcissa finished pulling herself together and walked over to the fire place. She took a small handful of floo powder and flung it down as she said, "Islington!" Narcissa Malfoy disappeared in a crackle of green fire.
Lucius looked at his pocket watch and snapped the lid shut. Malificus was late. Then he saw him, strolling down the Alley, casting appreciative glances at the more attractive women who passed him by. He has no sense of responsibility, thought Lucius. He is little more than a spoiled playboy.
"You're late," snapped Lucius.
"You're impatient."
"We are running on an important timetable, Malificus. It is nearly December and we only have until the end of April to prepare to retrieve the Medallion. I need you to focus." He emphasized his point by thumping Malificus in the chest with the silver end of his walking stick.
"You worry too much, Lucius. I'll be fully prepared. Mind your own preparations and nothing will go astray."
"Very well," said Lucius. "Let's get what we came for."
"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" asked Malificus as they turned to walk down the Alley.
"No. Narcissa left this morning to visit her sister. Before I go home, I'm picking up a book she ordered from Flourish & Blotts…"
"Oh, do tell Narcissa that I said hello. It's been far too long since I've seen her. Perhaps the three of us can get ourselves out to dinner soon." Malificus smiled at his brother.
"I'll be sure to tell her that. Since she'll be away until evening, I'm going to use the quiet time at the house to do some research on our plan for the Medallion and how it will help…" He glanced surreptitiously around "… The Dark Lord."
"Does it truly strike fear into every heart?" asked Malificus.
"Indeed. Whoever wears it, if they're looking at you, any fear you feel is amplified ten times, even twenty times. Using that, he could defeat even Dumbledore. And the Potter brat would be no difficult task either."
"A most useful tool."
As they walked down the road, a familiar figure appeared ahead of them. Just before they reached Madam Jade's crystal and mineral shop, Lucius stopped.
"Why Severus, what a pleasant surprise."
"Lucius. Malificus."
"Out for a spot of shopping?" said Malificus.
Snape raised an eyebrow. What a tremendously stupid question, he thought.
The door to Madam Jade's shut with a jingle of bells and Serena hurried to catch up with Severus.
"Severus!" she called. "I found the most wonderful red agate sphere…" Her voice trailed away and her faced turned to a cold, unwelcoming mask.
"Malificus," she said slowly. Her eyes shifted to the side warily. "Lucius." As she eyed the Malfoy brothers, Severus put his arm around her waist. The gesture did not go unnoticed. Lucius' eyes flicked down and back up in an instant.
"Well," said Lucius, "we'll let you get back to your afternoon together." He pressed his lips together in a thin smile. "Good day."
Lucius walked away but Malificus stayed for a moment. "It is always a pleasure to see you, Serena. Perhaps we'll cross paths again soon."
Hopefully not, thought Serena.
He went to step past them to follow his brother, and managed to bump into Severus and catching Severus' cloak on his walking stick. He ended up pulling it half off of Severus' shoulders.
"My apologies, Severus," said Malificus. "That was terribly clumsy of me. Here, let me help." He took the shoulder of the cape and put it back up on Severus' shoulder.
"Thank you." Severus voice was low and filled with suspicion.
With his arm still around Serena's waist, Severus and Serena walked down the street. Malificus struggled to not look behind him, lest they notice him. He looked down at his and at the two hairs he'd managed to pull off of Severus' cloak.
"What are you doing?" asked Lucius shortly.
"Nothing," said Malificus although he really wanted to say, 'none of your business.' "Before we leave today, I need to get some essence of crab and some boomslang skin."
"Whatever," said Lucius. "You can do that once we're finished." He turned and walked away in a flourish of cape.
Malificus looked at the hairs and whispered a spell, sealing them in a ball of glowing yellow so he wouldn't lose them, and slipped it in his pocket. Then and only then, did he look back to where Serena and Severus had gone and smiled. It was a smile that could only be described as savage.
Further down the street, Serena stopped suddenly and looked around, her brow wrinkled with concern.
"Serena? What's wrong?"
"I… I'm not certain, Severus." She paused and looked around again. "I could have sworn I heard thunder…"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Well, that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it and at least got a wee bit of a surprise at the start. Please read & review! I have a question for all of you… Between this chapter and the next one about three months go by (December to start of March)… Aside from continuing their relationship, nothing of significant import happens to Serena and Severus. I don't want to write filler simply for the sake of filling time, but three months seems to be a big leap to go without SOMETHING. So I wanted to ask all of you… Is there anything that you're eager to see during these months (maybe the Christmas/Yule holiday?)? I'm open for some ideas. Let me know!
Go raibh maith agaibh:
As always, sincere and profound thanks to my regular reviewers for their thoughts and comments. Thanks as well to those who are reading Thunderstruck but haven't left a review (I'd love to hear from you!).
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 16: Thunder in the Distance
In his London flat, Malificus Malfoy rolled out of bed and stretched languidly. There was no better way to begin a day than with a bit of sporting between the sheets. He walked over to the closet and pulled out something to wear.
"I'm meeting Lucius at noon," he said. "We have some plans to make. I asked him to meet me at the Leaky Cauldron since I have a few things I need to purchase in Diagon Alley. Where does he think you are?" He buttoned his banded collar shirt up to the neck.
Narcissa rolled onto her side. "I left this morning to have a visit with my sister."
"So you went straight from his bed to mine?" He turned back and smiled at her rakishly. "You wicked woman."
"And now I'll go to tea with my sister, all will be well, and none will be the wiser." She slowly got out of the bed and picked up her dress. "It is a shame we can't escape like this more often," she said. "I do so enjoy these little romps."
"As do I," he answered as he buckled his belt. "You're welcome to… visit… more frequently."
"I can't. Not without Lucius becoming suspicious. He has eyes everywhere, you know that, and he would kill us both if he knew about our affair."
"We've kept it secret for years, Narcissa." He threw his cloak over his shoulders. "I'll make sure to tell Lucius to say hello to you for me when I see him." He gave his brother's wife a wink and walked out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.
Narcissa finished pulling herself together and walked over to the fire place. She took a small handful of floo powder and flung it down as she said, "Islington!" Narcissa Malfoy disappeared in a crackle of green fire.
Lucius looked at his pocket watch and snapped the lid shut. Malificus was late. Then he saw him, strolling down the Alley, casting appreciative glances at the more attractive women who passed him by. He has no sense of responsibility, thought Lucius. He is little more than a spoiled playboy.
"You're late," snapped Lucius.
"You're impatient."
"We are running on an important timetable, Malificus. It is nearly December and we only have until the end of April to prepare to retrieve the Medallion. I need you to focus." He emphasized his point by thumping Malificus in the chest with the silver end of his walking stick.
"You worry too much, Lucius. I'll be fully prepared. Mind your own preparations and nothing will go astray."
"Very well," said Lucius. "Let's get what we came for."
"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" asked Malificus as they turned to walk down the Alley.
"No. Narcissa left this morning to visit her sister. Before I go home, I'm picking up a book she ordered from Flourish & Blotts…"
"Oh, do tell Narcissa that I said hello. It's been far too long since I've seen her. Perhaps the three of us can get ourselves out to dinner soon." Malificus smiled at his brother.
"I'll be sure to tell her that. Since she'll be away until evening, I'm going to use the quiet time at the house to do some research on our plan for the Medallion and how it will help…" He glanced surreptitiously around "… The Dark Lord."
"Does it truly strike fear into every heart?" asked Malificus.
"Indeed. Whoever wears it, if they're looking at you, any fear you feel is amplified ten times, even twenty times. Using that, he could defeat even Dumbledore. And the Potter brat would be no difficult task either."
"A most useful tool."
As they walked down the road, a familiar figure appeared ahead of them. Just before they reached Madam Jade's crystal and mineral shop, Lucius stopped.
"Why Severus, what a pleasant surprise."
"Lucius. Malificus."
"Out for a spot of shopping?" said Malificus.
Snape raised an eyebrow. What a tremendously stupid question, he thought.
The door to Madam Jade's shut with a jingle of bells and Serena hurried to catch up with Severus.
"Severus!" she called. "I found the most wonderful red agate sphere…" Her voice trailed away and her faced turned to a cold, unwelcoming mask.
"Malificus," she said slowly. Her eyes shifted to the side warily. "Lucius." As she eyed the Malfoy brothers, Severus put his arm around her waist. The gesture did not go unnoticed. Lucius' eyes flicked down and back up in an instant.
"Well," said Lucius, "we'll let you get back to your afternoon together." He pressed his lips together in a thin smile. "Good day."
Lucius walked away but Malificus stayed for a moment. "It is always a pleasure to see you, Serena. Perhaps we'll cross paths again soon."
Hopefully not, thought Serena.
He went to step past them to follow his brother, and managed to bump into Severus and catching Severus' cloak on his walking stick. He ended up pulling it half off of Severus' shoulders.
"My apologies, Severus," said Malificus. "That was terribly clumsy of me. Here, let me help." He took the shoulder of the cape and put it back up on Severus' shoulder.
"Thank you." Severus voice was low and filled with suspicion.
With his arm still around Serena's waist, Severus and Serena walked down the street. Malificus struggled to not look behind him, lest they notice him. He looked down at his and at the two hairs he'd managed to pull off of Severus' cloak.
"What are you doing?" asked Lucius shortly.
"Nothing," said Malificus although he really wanted to say, 'none of your business.' "Before we leave today, I need to get some essence of crab and some boomslang skin."
"Whatever," said Lucius. "You can do that once we're finished." He turned and walked away in a flourish of cape.
Malificus looked at the hairs and whispered a spell, sealing them in a ball of glowing yellow so he wouldn't lose them, and slipped it in his pocket. Then and only then, did he look back to where Serena and Severus had gone and smiled. It was a smile that could only be described as savage.
Further down the street, Serena stopped suddenly and looked around, her brow wrinkled with concern.
"Serena? What's wrong?"
"I… I'm not certain, Severus." She paused and looked around again. "I could have sworn I heard thunder…"
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Well, that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it and at least got a wee bit of a surprise at the start. Please read & review! I have a question for all of you… Between this chapter and the next one about three months go by (December to start of March)… Aside from continuing their relationship, nothing of significant import happens to Serena and Severus. I don't want to write filler simply for the sake of filling time, but three months seems to be a big leap to go without SOMETHING. So I wanted to ask all of you… Is there anything that you're eager to see during these months (maybe the Christmas/Yule holiday?)? I'm open for some ideas. Let me know!