Disclaimer/Author Note/Rating: Please see Chapter 1 for full disclaimers, legal info, etc.
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Wyall Jared… Can't believe Neville? Well, they do say that it is the quiet ones you have to watch… wink
Mercury Gray… Poor Neville? I don't know if I'd say "poor Neville." It was his idea, after all…
Lady of the Dog Star… As for Dumbledore's memory, don't forget, he's obtained so many memories over the years that some get stored in the Pensieve. And, maybe he just wanted to see what Hermione might know…
Annie Black… Don't be entirely surprised at Neville being brave. Remember, in an earlier book, he tries to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from doing something and Hermione petrifies him. Later Dumbledore give him points because it takes a lot of courage to stand up to your friends…
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 29: The Bowels of the Earth
The only sign of Lucius Malfoy's displeasure was the slight tightening of skin around his eyes as Malificus arrived with Hecate Underwood. Malificus held his brother's gaze and smirked at Lucius' annoyance.
"I'm not late," said Malificus, knowing exactly the source of his brother's irritation. "I am precisely prompt. You said to arrive by 9:00 and if I'm not mistaken, it is ten minutes until the hour."
"It is five minutes 'til nine," said Lucius tightly as he snapped the lid of his pocket watch closed.
"Well then forgive my prudence." Malificus' tone was mocking. "Given that we are within a half-hour's broom ride of Hogwart's, I thought it wiser to take a roundabout route to get here. I presume you don't want any uninvited or unexpected guests this evening."
"Preferably not. Well, now that you've arrived, please join us," replied Lucius in an overly polite and not terribly sincere voice.
There were ten Death Eaters surrounding an old willow tree. All were hooded and cloaked, and each wore a mask to disguise their identity. Malificus glanced quickly around the circle and saw masks portraying war, death, and famine. Plus there were creature masks as well. He saw a werewolf and a grindylow, and a savage-looking representation of a goblin. At the top of the circle, wearing a mask that reminded Malificus of a serpent, was Lucius.
A serpent? You're so boring and predictable, Lucius, he thought. No wonder Narcissa looks for sport outside of your bed. Malificus stifled a laugh as he pulled his own mask down. It was a stylized representation of "lust," his favorite of the Muggles' so-called Deadly Sins, and one he was terribly familiar with. Your wife has always been one of my favorites; her hungers run as deeply as mine.
Lucius pulled his wand from the folds of his robe and held it aloft. The tip began to glow. "The Rorret Medallion is buried deep in the dark bowels of the earth," he said. "It will take all of our focus and all of our power to circumvent the wards placed upon it and return it to the surface, return it to the Dark Lord. You have all chosen to serve the Dark Lord and reap the rewards of his return. Do not turn away from your chosen path."
The elder Malfoy pointed it at a place near the tree's base. "Remember the sequence. If any of you enter the spell at the wrong time, all of our preparations will be for naught." He paused and then shouted "Exhumae!"
A silvery light, laced through with black swirls appeared from the tip of his wand. It struck the earth, hesitated, and then began to burrow down. The earth began to groan and the tree creaked as it shifted. The spell burrowed deeper into the earth, seeking the chest that Lucius knew was beneath the roots of the great willow. One by one, each Death Eater on the circle cast a spell to enhance the power of the original Exhumae spell. Each time, Lucius felt the power of the spell grow. Each time, Lucius felt them get closer and closer to the coveted chest.
Malificus stood in the sixth position on the circle and watched as the five ahead of him all joined the spell. Now, the truth will be seen, he thought.
"Exhumae!" he shouted and the same silvery color came from his wand. As it joined the spell, all of the others felt the sudden influx of power. It was greater than anything they'd felt so far.
Boggsbottom! thought Lucius in a fury, thinking that the seventh Death Eater had joined too soon. I will have your head stuffed and mounted in my study… The angry thought stopped abruptly as Lucius felt Boggsbottom join the spell. If it wasn't Boggsbottom's error, where did the extra power come from? I've done spell work with every person here, and none of them have magic that feels like this… Lucius glanced over at his brother only to find Malificus looking at him, waiting to see what his reaction would be.
You? The power is coming from you? What have you done, little brother? thought Lucius, because this isn't all yours! If you have done something to jeopardize this attempt, I swear I will put the Imperius Curse on you myself and make you do whatever debasing punishment the Dark Lord requires.
Malificus, meanwhile, was delighting in the power he was siphoning from Serena. Ah, Lucius if you could see the expression in your eyes…! This is magnificent! I could do anything, he thought. Challenge anyone. Very soon, Lucius, you'll see what it feels like to be the lesser brother. He wished he could simply take all of Serena's power and be done with it, but the Dominatus Crystal didn't operate like that, and he knew he would need to hold some in reserve for the final retrieval.
Hecate, the last of the Death Eaters to join the spell, added her power and deep in the earth, the iron chest began to slowly grind its way towards the surface.
A stench of sulfur began to fill the air. At the central point of the spell, the earth continued to growl and protest. Slowly a ten foot oval of Earth grumbled and shifted, turning into a sludge that began to bubble and fester, as if some deep, rotting, putrid infection was finally erupting to the surface.
It's moving, exulted Lucius The spell is working. By midnight the Rorret Medallion will be the Dark Lord's prize and we will have reached the final step to help him reclaim a tangible form!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Yes, yes… I know some of you are screaming "what about Longbottom???" I promise, that thread will pick up in the next chapter. Hope this diversion into what Malificus is doing satisfies those of you who I know are interested in him… Please read/review and let me know what you think!
Go raibh maith agaibh:
Wyall Jared… Can't believe Neville? Well, they do say that it is the quiet ones you have to watch… wink
Mercury Gray… Poor Neville? I don't know if I'd say "poor Neville." It was his idea, after all…
Lady of the Dog Star… As for Dumbledore's memory, don't forget, he's obtained so many memories over the years that some get stored in the Pensieve. And, maybe he just wanted to see what Hermione might know…
Annie Black… Don't be entirely surprised at Neville being brave. Remember, in an earlier book, he tries to stop Harry, Ron, and Hermione from doing something and Hermione petrifies him. Later Dumbledore give him points because it takes a lot of courage to stand up to your friends…
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Chapter 29: The Bowels of the Earth
The only sign of Lucius Malfoy's displeasure was the slight tightening of skin around his eyes as Malificus arrived with Hecate Underwood. Malificus held his brother's gaze and smirked at Lucius' annoyance.
"I'm not late," said Malificus, knowing exactly the source of his brother's irritation. "I am precisely prompt. You said to arrive by 9:00 and if I'm not mistaken, it is ten minutes until the hour."
"It is five minutes 'til nine," said Lucius tightly as he snapped the lid of his pocket watch closed.
"Well then forgive my prudence." Malificus' tone was mocking. "Given that we are within a half-hour's broom ride of Hogwart's, I thought it wiser to take a roundabout route to get here. I presume you don't want any uninvited or unexpected guests this evening."
"Preferably not. Well, now that you've arrived, please join us," replied Lucius in an overly polite and not terribly sincere voice.
There were ten Death Eaters surrounding an old willow tree. All were hooded and cloaked, and each wore a mask to disguise their identity. Malificus glanced quickly around the circle and saw masks portraying war, death, and famine. Plus there were creature masks as well. He saw a werewolf and a grindylow, and a savage-looking representation of a goblin. At the top of the circle, wearing a mask that reminded Malificus of a serpent, was Lucius.
A serpent? You're so boring and predictable, Lucius, he thought. No wonder Narcissa looks for sport outside of your bed. Malificus stifled a laugh as he pulled his own mask down. It was a stylized representation of "lust," his favorite of the Muggles' so-called Deadly Sins, and one he was terribly familiar with. Your wife has always been one of my favorites; her hungers run as deeply as mine.
Lucius pulled his wand from the folds of his robe and held it aloft. The tip began to glow. "The Rorret Medallion is buried deep in the dark bowels of the earth," he said. "It will take all of our focus and all of our power to circumvent the wards placed upon it and return it to the surface, return it to the Dark Lord. You have all chosen to serve the Dark Lord and reap the rewards of his return. Do not turn away from your chosen path."
The elder Malfoy pointed it at a place near the tree's base. "Remember the sequence. If any of you enter the spell at the wrong time, all of our preparations will be for naught." He paused and then shouted "Exhumae!"
A silvery light, laced through with black swirls appeared from the tip of his wand. It struck the earth, hesitated, and then began to burrow down. The earth began to groan and the tree creaked as it shifted. The spell burrowed deeper into the earth, seeking the chest that Lucius knew was beneath the roots of the great willow. One by one, each Death Eater on the circle cast a spell to enhance the power of the original Exhumae spell. Each time, Lucius felt the power of the spell grow. Each time, Lucius felt them get closer and closer to the coveted chest.
Malificus stood in the sixth position on the circle and watched as the five ahead of him all joined the spell. Now, the truth will be seen, he thought.
"Exhumae!" he shouted and the same silvery color came from his wand. As it joined the spell, all of the others felt the sudden influx of power. It was greater than anything they'd felt so far.
Boggsbottom! thought Lucius in a fury, thinking that the seventh Death Eater had joined too soon. I will have your head stuffed and mounted in my study… The angry thought stopped abruptly as Lucius felt Boggsbottom join the spell. If it wasn't Boggsbottom's error, where did the extra power come from? I've done spell work with every person here, and none of them have magic that feels like this… Lucius glanced over at his brother only to find Malificus looking at him, waiting to see what his reaction would be.
You? The power is coming from you? What have you done, little brother? thought Lucius, because this isn't all yours! If you have done something to jeopardize this attempt, I swear I will put the Imperius Curse on you myself and make you do whatever debasing punishment the Dark Lord requires.
Malificus, meanwhile, was delighting in the power he was siphoning from Serena. Ah, Lucius if you could see the expression in your eyes…! This is magnificent! I could do anything, he thought. Challenge anyone. Very soon, Lucius, you'll see what it feels like to be the lesser brother. He wished he could simply take all of Serena's power and be done with it, but the Dominatus Crystal didn't operate like that, and he knew he would need to hold some in reserve for the final retrieval.
Hecate, the last of the Death Eaters to join the spell, added her power and deep in the earth, the iron chest began to slowly grind its way towards the surface.
A stench of sulfur began to fill the air. At the central point of the spell, the earth continued to growl and protest. Slowly a ten foot oval of Earth grumbled and shifted, turning into a sludge that began to bubble and fester, as if some deep, rotting, putrid infection was finally erupting to the surface.
It's moving, exulted Lucius The spell is working. By midnight the Rorret Medallion will be the Dark Lord's prize and we will have reached the final step to help him reclaim a tangible form!
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Yes, yes… I know some of you are screaming "what about Longbottom???" I promise, that thread will pick up in the next chapter. Hope this diversion into what Malificus is doing satisfies those of you who I know are interested in him… Please read/review and let me know what you think!