35. Queen of Hearts
The Dementors went mad when one of them died, just as the First One had predicted. Death brought with it life. Life brought with it feelings. Feelings brought terror. They fed on each other.
Azkaban was thrust into chaos. The Dementors, once known only for their cold silence and the terror they brought, roared, raved, and cackled their way through its dark, wet, cold corridors and ancient crevices. Azkaban was aflame with unleashed souls, a nuclear reactor of undead spirits imploding into each other. Had I been a seasoned novelist, I'd have been able to better capture the horrific splendour of this craggy, black island alight with arcane magic. As it is, I can only hint at its magnificence. These are merely the awed memories of one who saw it all from a rickety old boat on a stormy sea, scared half out of her mind.
Then I stepped onto Azkaban rock (the ferryman would have turned back had I not seen a story in the making and forced him to dock - a condemned soul forever seeking the Story; the irony is not lost on me) and with me came the end to this demented war.
The Dementor King arrived that night. It strode into the prison complex, sought out those few Dementors still alive, and killed them all.
Without the King, the Dementors would have disappeared that night, devouring themselves till there would be naught but a single self-demented creature left. The King saved them. And, as I came with the King, they offer me the special treatment befitting a Queen. Kisses all around and special treats to keep my spirits up in this soul-devouring place while I work on this, the greatest story of my career.
Today, it was one of the Lestranges, I believe. A meagre meal but I guess I should be grateful.
I'm kept in the old visiting area and they do keep on their very best behaviour when they come to keep me company. Or bring me company, whichever the King chooses. He is my constant shadow, and the reason they defer so dementedly to me.
Ah, I kill myself.
Though, being immortal, that seems unlikely. Still, this is a merrier kind of madness, I suppose. And I have so much time to work.
Honest, good work.
The First One is long gone.
I am the Queen of Hearts.
The whispers tell me so.
fin
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I'd love to hear what you thought of the story. And I'd love for The Fine Line fans not to lynch me.
If you haven't read The Fine Line, you should do so. It begins 'Draco Malfoy was a man of extremes. Malfoys often were.' (You'll find it by going to my author page.)
If this story doesn't prove a complete failure, there may be a sequel. (Or should I say a second sequel?) It would roughly deal with what would happen when The Strange decides to take a more agressive stance in wizarding politics and the King of the Damned returns to the mainland. Sounds delightfully cheesy, does it not? ;)