Chapter Thirty-Eight
The Price of Revenge
There could be little doubt it was an uncomfortable sleeping position, tied as they were with their backs to each other, but Aurelius somehow succeeded in closing his eyes a few moments, trying to clear his mind so he could think up some way of getting out of this.
"All right?" Andrew whispered softly.
"Quiet," snarled a guard at the top of the stairs.
They had been placed in the attic of a large dilapidated mansion in what otherwise looked like a fairly upscale Muggle neighborhood. A leak in the roof left everything in the room smelling dank and moldy, and the recent rain had come in, soaking some ratty carpets and rugs that had been placed there, making it an altogether unpleasant place to be under any circumstances.
For the first time all year, Aurelius, who had finally begun to catch up to some of his classmates in height, wished he was just a little bit taller, for on the side he was facing, there was a small window that looked out on the gnarled, bramble and weed filled front garden. Not a thing could be seen at night, but now the fog was slowly lifting, and Aurelius had really hoped to get a better impression of where they were. Feeling around for a hand, he managed to get his fist in Alex's, making a bunch of complex signs. Alex looked around for a moment before shaking her fist.
"I don't suppose I could get a glass of water?" Aurelius asked.
"You're going to get nothing but a silence spell if you don't shut up," the guard snapped, tapping his wand threateningly. "You won't be needing any water soon enough anyhow."
"Even prisoners of war get a last meal," Aurelius argued.
"You'll be tasting blood when Ciardoth gets here, I'd say that'd cover it," the guard said icily. But just then there was a knock on the attic door below and the guard went downstairs.
"Friendly chap," Aurelius murmured.
"Still got the Aegis?" Andrew whispered back.
"Yeah…remember, they can't take it off unless I let them," Aurelius said softly.
"At least you'll be saved then, anyhow," Alex whispered.
"Not really. It can't protect my back when I'm wearing it, Ciardoth and Lucius both know that," Aurelius said. "No luck with the birds, Alex?"
"None are coming close enough to speak with. All the activity here has got them spooked," Alex said. Andrew, why not go invisible? When he comes back, they'll think you escaped."
"Because I'd still be tied up," Andrew said. "And with what happened over the weekend, it wouldn't take long for them to figure out I'm still there."
"What about transfiguring the ropes, or the guard or something, like you did at Hogsmeade?" Alex asked.
"I… I can't control that, not really, it just…happened, because I was angry," Andrew murmured.
"Well, get angry then?" Alex suggested.
"I can't, right now I'm too frightened." Andrew admitted.
"Then you'll just have to try to transfigure yourself, then," Aurelius said.
"What? I can't do that!"
"Why not? Everyone says you're a natural." Aurelius murmured.
"There hasn't been an animagus Snape or Craw in ten generations and you know it," Andrew chuckled. "I remember that day when we all got ourselves convinced we would be because Zoë and Zack could and Mum and Father had to burst our bubble."
"Look, I agree that the rest of us won't. In fact, I really don't think I even have the desire to anymore," Aurelius said. "But I know you have it in you, and brother, if you don't do it soon, you may never get to do it."
"Rel…Rel, there's something I never got the chance to tell you, and I really think I ought to do it."
"Please, Andrew, now's not the time to get sentimental."
"But I've got to tell you. I know what you've been going through lately with sometimes being able to read people's thoughts and all that. And I know that it's something that's always happened to you, and you must have gotten hurt because of it once…and that's the real reason you starting hiding your thoughts to begin with."
"Andrew, do me a favor and shut up," Aurelius sighed.
"No, no, because I know you've finally gotten old enough that you can't deny what you really are anymore," Andrew said stubbornly. "You've put up walls and walls around yourself since you could walk…walls to keep secrets in, yes, but also to keep your ability in because you didn't want it. That's why the telepathy machine never works on you, isn't it? Because you don't want to have to deal with what you've been burying all these years. I figured it out because there was a notation in that medical book on anomalies. Your talent for Occlumancy is nothing but a manifestation for that ability that you have been forcing yourself not to believe in."
"Andrew, what on earth are you trying to say?" Alex said.
"Now is not the time," Aurelius said firmly.
"It may very well be the only time we have," Andrew said curtly. "Alex, Aurelius is a Truth Seeker."
"What?" Alex said, stunned. "All this time, you've been able to read…"
"No," Aurelius said firmly. "No, I haven't. I don't want it. I don't want anything to do with it. I refuse to see anything I don't want to see, and what people think is nothing I want anything to do with! You don't know what it was like…to see people you don't know come up to you and say something nice to you when you know they're thinking other things… horrible things. It's even worse when people you care about do it, and they do. Everything that anyone says is a lie in some way. So I shut it off so I could only hear their voices, knowing that I was really only fooling myself."
"So that's why… I mean… you've always taken everything so personal…" Alex said softly.
"You would too if you had any idea what people might be really thinking about you," Aurelius said bitterly. "I hate it and I wish I was born without it, and since it can't really help us out of this mess, I'd just as soon not talk about it anymore." The three of them grew quiet for a moment, wondering where the guard went.
"Do you really think I could…well, you know…I mean, I'm not really even sure how I'd begin about doing it," Andrew said at last. "Or even what form I would try."
"Preferably something agile," Aurelius said, glancing at the hole in the ceiling. "Or maybe aerial. Just think quick, we don't know how much longer until our guard comes back."
"Look! Look!" Alex suddenly said excitedly, forcing the others to stand with her as she looked out the window. But as Aurelius stared out at the figure of his mother, standing in front of the mansion with an open watch in her hand, he had a feeling of dread instead of hope. As she walked closer to the mansion and out of view of the window, Aurelius suddenly found himself wondering if he would ever see her again.
Jennifer had had, of course, every intention of leaving that morning, although she still had very little clue when she woke up where she was going. All that was in her mind now was getting away from her family and the harm that might come to them now that the Invisibility Cream was entirely gone, and had given up all hope of finding Lucius before the Mercy potion left her. So she stuffed a potion kit into her chest in case she needed to make her own potions before hiding the trunk in another part of the castle where Severus might not think to look for it.
Severus' watch she had acquired the night before, slipping it in her own pocket unbeknownst to him before they even sat down to eat dinner. It had to be this way, she reminded herself not for the first time. There would be no returning until she faced Lucius. But as she hurried to get her things together and dart out of the castle, Jennifer couldn't help but risk a look at her own watch to see if Severus yet suspected what she was in the process of doing.
And it was in that moment that Jennifer's heart seemed to stop in pure horror as she saw the three arrows of her children pointing to Mortal Peril. How could it have happened? How were they taken? She choked down her fears, switching to Severus' watch and quickly adjusting the compass to pick up her eldest, remembering how Corey once successfully used it to locate her before. She would find them, she told herself with certainty. No matter what it took.
So determined was she to narrow it down, so badly the need of speed, Jennifer began Apparating at random distances while focusing on the compass, regardless of the Muggle presence in the area…standing only a split second at any one place before she was off again, a mere figment of their imaginations. Who cared if the Ministry would have a field day on her later…if there even was a later. Her children were at stake now, and it was with deep determination that in less than an hour she found herself in front of a house on a hill in Little Hangleton. And when she passed the rusted iron gate with the stylized letter of an "R" in the center, she knew she was in the right place.
The mansion itself was unmistakably the same one she had seen in her dream, although she hadn't remembered the garden being quite so untamed. But there was one thing that bothered her; it was much too quiet. And although she didn't know quite what she was expecting, part of her didn't understand why nothing had happened yet.
Taking out her wand, Jennifer crept over to the door, using a spell upon her feet so that the footfalls wouldn't be heard upon the creaking steps of the porch as she glided up them. Slowly she turned the door handle, using the tip of her wand to gently push it open.
But as she got the opening just wide enough to cautiously put a foot in, an arm suddenly shot out from right beside the door and Jennifer felt the point of a wand in her neck. She risked a glance over at her assailant who pushed the wand more threateningly under her jaw in response, finding herself staring into the eyes of Roger Baylor himself.
"It seems that the guest of honor has finally arrived," said an unmistakable voice. Roger kicked the door further open so that Jennifer could see several robed figures standing within. Lucius Malfoy himself was standing by the steps with an expression on his face that chilled her to the bone. "We were worried that you might be late to your own funeral, so we picked up some insurance."
"I see you're not hiding anymore. Where are my children?" Jennifer demanded.
Nonchalantly, Lucius lifted his cane upwards, and Jennifer glanced up at where the three of them stood at the top of the stairs with their hands tied and their guards with wands pointed at their heads.
"You know, I considered hanging them by the ceiling and have you discover them that way, but then, I did promise Ciardoth the pleasure of torturing them…even if it would have been fun to see your reaction," Lucius mused. "Well, maybe we'll hang them when we're done for someone else to find. Besides, I wouldn't have them miss what I'm going to do next. Reveal Deception!" he said, waving his wand at Jennifer and casting a white cloud at her. Jennifer held her breath, expecting some sort of gas or toxin, but it merely seemed to dampen her skin. And yet, as the cloud dissipated, Jennifer heard the unmistakable screams of her three children. She looked up to see them staring at her with pure horror, Alex having to cover her eyes and turn away. "How strange! It's as if your children barely recognize you. Roger, do get the lady a mirror, perhaps we can figure out why."
"It's hardly necessary. I'm well aware of what you just did," Jennifer said quietly, gazing down at the gaping wound on her burnt and sliced hand.
"Oh, no, I insist," Lucius said with pure delight, as a standing mirror was pulled in. "Take a good look. Don't worry, they tell me that beauty is only skin deep. Of course, a few of those wounds are actually deeper than that. And you've been able to do this much to yourself in what? Eight months' time? Knowing that you wouldn't heal? My, my, my, you should have been more careful," he tsked. "I wonder how long it's going to take your husband and children to look like that? Not so long, I'd guess."
"They won't be affected by the curse, as you well know, Lucius, for I did not tell them or leave one hint," Jennifer said coolly.
"Oh, on the contrary, Jennifer," Lucius said, a smile creeping across his face. "I have been assured by Ciardoth that at the point I meet you here that the curse will have already spread to the entire family," he said, Jennifer gazing at him warily. "Something about a journal, I believe she said? She distinctly remembers that Severus finds a way to open it, and since you were the one to not only write in it but left it somewhere he could easily get to it, you are responsible. Perhaps it's time to demonstrate. Bring down Aurelius."
Aurelius' expression didn't change, meeting Lucius' eyes calmly and not showing any fear as the Death Eater nudged him down the stairs. He had known very well he was going to be the first one chosen.
"What are you going to do?" Jennifer said, growing pale beneath her heavily scarred face.
"Nothing that he didn't do to me," Lucius said, and then took a step over to Roger. "Do the honors, Baylor. I detest non-magic means of delivery, but the point really should be made. Make sure it's not fatal, I'm far from being through with that one."
"With pleasure, my lord," Roger said, letting another Death Eater take his place at Jennifer's side. "March him out from the wall, Debauch," he said, the robed figure pulling him out into the center of the floor.
"Ever heard the old adage eye for and eye, Aurelius?" Lucius said tauntingly, taking a step to the side for a better view. "Yes, well, I think you'll agree this a suitable punishment for treachery." He nodded to Roger, and Jennifer cried out in horror as he pulled a knife, sinking it deep under Aurelius' shoulder blade. Aurelius cried out in pain but somehow bit it back, falling onto his side.
"Aurelius!" Jennifer screamed, ignoring the Death Eaters threatening to cast at her as she broke away and over to his side, sobbing at the sight of the knife in her son's back, trying to see if she could get it out.
"Oh, darn, it didn't go all the way through," said Roger disappointedly.
"It's the Aegis at work, but don't worry. Once he dies, I'll finally be able to take it back," Lucius said unconcernedly. "Care for a Healing Potion, Jennifer?"
"I'll take nothing from you," Jennifer spat at him angrily, pulling out a bottle and pouring it over the wound. But just as she feared nothing…nothing at all happened, and left with no other option, she quickly cast a blood-staunching spell.
"There, do you see?" Lucius laughed. "Proof positive that you have betrayed your family at last! I must admit, it took longer than I at first hoped for, but now, as you can see, it's over, and now everyone you ever tried to protect is doomed."
"The only one doomed is you, Lucius," Jennifer said coldly, slowly standing up. Lucius raised his brow, giving her a cruel, mocking smile. "You're right, this is my fault. I should have killed you when it was within my rights to do so during the wizard's duel. You should have died that day. You also should have died eight months ago. I think you've run out of chances."
"Do you?" Lucius said with amusement. "Is that your way of challenging me to a rematch?"
"If that is what you want," Jennifer said evenly.
"What I want is for you to suffer for what you did to me!" Lucius snarled.
"How much more can I suffer than what you've already done?" Jennifer snapped back. "Fine, do what you will to me, I don't care anymore, but let my children go!"
"Your children's lives as well as the recreant's were promised to Ciardoth, actually, and I'm hardly going to break that bargain, nor do I need to. Your life already belongs to me…what's left of it. However, I find the idea of a rematch rather amusing. How long do you expect to last in your condition, I wonder? How long before whatever it is you're on wears off and leaves you in pain?" he inquired, watching as her eyes darted around for a clock, but there was none to be seen. "Yes, that's what I thought. You are out of time in more ways than one, aren't you, dear Jennifer?" Lucius said with a cruel smile. "Throw her in the basement."
Alex, Andrew, and Aurelius all shouted out in protest, suddenly stopping cold and going blue in the face as a powerful suffocation spell hit them.
"Stop! Please stop, you're hurting them!" Jennifer said as the Death Eaters grabbed a hold of her when the spell didn't let up, watching in horror as their faces grew purple on the point of collapse.
"That's the entire point," Lucius said, uncaringly adjusting his gloves as he got ready for the duel ahead, taking a few experimental jabs with his wand, listening as Jennifer was thrown down the basement stairs before nonchalantly signaling for the others to release the spell. He held out his hand then, and Baylor gave him Jennifer's wand. "If any of them make a sound before Ciardoth gets here, feel free to let it go for a few more minutes. I don't think Ciardoth will care if they're a bit brain damaged when she gets them as long as they haven't forgotten out how to scream. If she's not here after I'm finished downstairs, I'll send you to fetch the other girl, Baylor. Until then, you're in charge."
"Yes, Lord Lucius," Baylor said with enthusiasm as he watched him step into the basement, a series of complex locks and the flash of several magic wards appearing when he shut the door behind him. "Now, what say we see what it takes to get them to 'make a sound,' shall we?" Baylor said nastily, raising his wand at Aurelius. "Crucio!" He intoned. Aurelius, already on the ground, flinched in terrible pain, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out as his body was wracked from the power of the spell.
"Leave him alone!" Alex cried out, Andrew struggling to force his fear down, hoping that his anger would take over.
"That was definitely a sound," Baylor said, finally calling of the spell with a look of cold triumph, waving his wand experimentally at Aurelius again. "Shall we see how long it takes them to pass out this time? Do it."
But as the Death Eaters turned their wands on the three Snapes and cast their spells, Baylor, who had been watching Aurelius and waiting impatiently for something to happen, didn't notice at first that those who had cast the spells were gurgling. Then the one near Alex fell at her feet, followed by the one near Andrew. Glancing only momentarily at each other, the two Snapes dashed down the stairs to their brother's side as the Death Eater near him staggered.
"A reciprocation spell?" Baylor murmured, suddenly becoming more alert.
"How brilliant of you," said a familiar voice out of nowhere just before Baylor felt a fist in his jaw, falling to the ground as much from surprise as the blow itself.
"Father!" Alex said with relief as he whipped off his Invisibility Cloak. "Father, they got Mum!"
"Get yourselves out! Now!" Severus said, taking a defensive stance as the Death Eaters began to get to their feet.
"But…"
"No buts, just do it! Quickly!" Severus ordered, disarming the two Death Eaters standing in the hall as Andrew went to help his brother up. Alex took up the other side, passing their father a worried look before the three of them stepped out into the garden.
"I wondered when you'd show up. We've been waiting some time for you to join the party," Baylor said, slowly getting up.
"Next time, I'll RSVP," Severus growled. "Move! I have no qualms right now about killing any of you. Especially the one that should already be dead!"
"Really? Well, if I were you, I'd be more concerned about what your children are walking into," Baylor said evenly, glancing over his shoulder.
Warily, Severus turned slightly so he could see in the mirror, when he noticed something so disturbing that he spun all the way around, for the overgrown vines, brush, and gnarled trees within the garden had suddenly come alive.
He barked out a word of warning just before they attacked, and Alex pulled Aurelius down just as an enlarged vine from a thorny old rose bush whipped down on them. Immediately, Aurelius drew out the shield and he and Alex took cover as it tried to beat on them again. Meanwhile, Andrew was caught with a problem of his own as the bushes on his side of the path had snared one of his feet. Alex and Aurelius called out to him, getting the attention of an old oak tree that even now was turning to deal with him.
Taking advantage of Severus' momentary reaction, Baylor called his wand back into his hand and blasted him from the rear, a furious storm of ice shards coming out of his wand and piercing the back of Severus' cloak as Severus instinctively rolled forward and out the door, kipping up to his knee to retaliate. With an air of superiority, Baylor walked out the door after him, flicking the tip of his wand quickly behind him to shut the door, cutting them off from the other Death Eaters, yes, but also adding another barrier between Severus and Jennifer.
"The last time we met, as I recall, I nearly killed you," Baylor said. "And you do not have your wife to save you this time."
"Fight me now, Baylor, and you'll be doing nothing but seeking your grave," Severus warned.
"I have only myself to lose," Baylor said dryly. "You should have stayed a bachelor and childless, Snape. But don't worry, before you die, you will be both again."
As the battle ensued, the three Snapes in the garden had their hands more than full. In desperation, Andrew had managed to transform some thorny dead briars into a pair of wooden swords, sliding one towards Aurelius before hacking his ankle away from the snaring weeds.
"This is Ciardoth's work!" Aurelius said, parrying away another attack from the brush beside them. "We've got to keep moving!"
"We're not going to get far in this without our wands, let alone our cloaks!" Alex said. "I can't call mine!"
"I saw one of them lock them in that hall desk below the attic," Aurelius said.
"A lot of good they'll do us there," Alex said back. "We can't do this forever! Ow!"
Alex had gotten too far away from the shield, a whipping thorn vine grazing her arm in dozens of places before Aurelius pulled her back in.
"Andrew, you fool, get over here!" Aurelius barked as he jumped one of the vines and then ran out of the range of the oak, which shook so hard that many of its dead branches came raining down on them. But Andrew was looking up at the small window they had been peering out of during their uncomfortable night.
"I'm going to try for it!" Andrew said, diving for one of the branches as the tree swooped at him again, kicking away a threatening-looking poison oak plant as he jerked the branch away. At first they had little clue what he was doing as he began to grab bits of brush until they saw him tie it on the branch until he had a makeshift broom.
"You're going to break your neck!" Alex said.
"Likely, but it's our only shot!" Andrew said, straddling it.
How he actually got the thing to fly at all was anyone's guess. But no one was very surprised when it began to break up. 'Only shot' soon turned into 'one shot' as the bristles fell out of the tie and Andrew found himself clinging to the window a second later. The window, however, proved to be too small, but Andrew hadn't forgotten the hole in the roof and climbed up the awning to try and get to it.
Beneath him, sparks of different colors flew as Baylor and his father fought, but fortunately he was well out of range as he tried to squeeze through the hole, getting stuck momentarily to his shoulders until he finally broke through taking more of the roof with him, a squirrel nest full of the last of winter's nuts mixed in with fresh berries plopping down on his head.
"Poor blokes. I suppose they'll have to move now. Bet it was quiet there until the Death Eaters came along," Andrew murmured, getting to his feet. "Where in the world are we?" he wondered, but knew he had no time to dwell on it.
Andrew hurried down the stairs to the desk, quickly realizing he had a problem. There was no way he was going to be able to unlock it without a wand, and Zack was the only lock picker in the group. Hesitating only momentarily, Andrew turned and went into the nearest room to grab the heaviest piece of iron from near the chimney that he could find, took a deep breath and slammed it loudly into the desk. By fortune or miracle, the lock was a normal Muggle desk lock and broke instantly from the blow, but even as Andrew grabbed the wands, he heard a call from below and feet on the stairs. With an exhausting shove, Andrew pushed the desk down the stairs before running up to the attic, locking the door behind him. Yet even as he got to the top and was trying to grab up their cloaks, a loud blast hit the door from the other side. In a complete panic, Andrew tossed the cloaks out the window to insure his siblings would have at least that. But the Death Eaters were already climbing the stairs, and Andrew found himself momentarily trapped, for the stairs were between him and the hole in the attic and there was no way he could pass it even invisible without running too close to one of them.
It was within the instant that he spotted the first Death Eater at the top of the stairs with a wand in hand that the Craw instinct for survival hit Andrew full force. Slipping the wands in his robe, Andrew leapt for the tiny window.
By the time he reached it, he was small enough to fit through it.
Less than an instant later, he heard a surprised cry behind him. The ash brown squirrel agilely darted over the ridgepole, and just as the first blast curled the awning behind him, the squirrel jumped with his forearms spread. As he had hoped… as he had prayed… large layers of skin suddenly caught hold of the wind, and Andrew found himself gliding over towards Alex and Andrew, awkwardly attempting to control its direction. He was only partially successful, finding himself crashing into one of the swinging branches of the oak tree. Battered and bruised, he forced himself to climb out to the edge, waiting until the tree took another swipe before leaping down onto the path.
After fighting countless branches, vines, and poison oak and ivy attacks, Alex and Aurelius looked on this unexpected woodland creature with a healthy dose of wariness. Nothing could really prepare them for seeing it suddenly stand on its paws and shoot up six more feet to his height before settling into the less frightening figure of their mild mannered brother.
"Wands," Andrew explained, handing them out.
"Andrew?" Alex said with surprise, too shocked at first to grab hers. But Aurelius quickly recovered, ditching the makeshift sword in favor of his trusty Unicorn wand. "That was really you!"
"Only Andrew would pick something so disgustingly cute and fuzzy," Aurelius said, grabbing the other wand and handing it to Alex.
"It was all I could think of!" Andrew protested, immobilizing the tree before turning a rigidity spell on some of the brush around him, his other siblings doing the same. "Our cloaks are in the garden near the mansion. We should work our way there… I didn't think of pulling out a pain potion before I tossed them."
"I'm all right," Aurelius said sounding nothing of the sort as he slowly got to his feet and slung the Aegis back around his neck. "Let's go grab them and leave."
"But what about them?" Alex asked, drawing their attention back to Baylor and Severus. "And what about Mum?"
"Father wanted us to get out of here, maybe we should do it. It's out of our hands now," Andrew said. "Besides, it looks like Father's getting the upper hand."
"But there are six more Death Eater's inside! And Lucius and…"
"Me, perhaps?" A cool voice said, cutting Alex off. Slowly the three of them turned to see Ciardoth standing over them.
Severus wasted very little time manipulating the movements of his opponent so that he could see what was going on in the garden out of the corner of his eye while still being able to pay attention his own defense. He spent most of his time dodging and blocking the barrage of wound spells from acid to fire and even frostbite that headed his way. Through it all, Severus remained cool and level headed, his responses more reflexive than reactionary, leaving his mind free to try and sort out the problem at hand.
As he partially blocked, partially sidestepped the incoming Reflex Curse, Severus caught sight of an object lifting out of the gardens, glancing up only to be momentarily blinded by the sun as it rose towards its apex. It was someone on a broom, he realized as he blinked to try and clear his sight, casting an Iceslick spell on the ground to keep Baylor momentarily occupied while he did so. Baylor snarled angrily, tired of having the older man so easily fend him off. But in the last two years that Baylor had been in prison, Severus had been anything but idle, and it became more and more obvious as the fight progressed that Severus had surpassed his opponent's skill and was now in much better shape than the freed criminal.
Suddenly, Severus noticed behind Baylor several flashes of light, a thin, grim, and yet mysteriously triumphant smile playing across his lip. His posture changed dramatically in that moment, his thoughts focusing in purely now on the fight.
"Consider this your last chance to surrender, Baylor," Severus said warningly.
"Surrender? Hardly," Baylor sneered at him, waving his wand threateningly at him. "I have every intention of seeing through this until the end and until Ciardoth has taught you and your children the true meaning of ultimate suffering."
"I don't see what would be in it for you. Perhaps Jennifer and my deaths I can understand, but I hardly think the deaths of the children matter. What could Malfoy have possibly offered to you worth risking your own life for?"
"A means to an end, Severus, that's what we all want in our own ways, that's the beauty of it all," Baylor said in an almost mocking tone. "Malfoy wants nothing but Jennifer's last few moments to be a living hell, Ciardoth wants nothing but for you to witness your family's destruction before you die, and I want what I have always wanted; for Thomas to pay the ultimate price for my father's death. And, since the courts decided to act in his favor and let the bastard out, I think it's only appropriate he take the blame for all of your deaths. They're already prepared to hang him from the highest tower for his deeds; the entire Council is… I hear even death by Dementor Kiss is being discussed as a possible outcome. In any case, this day will see the end of both the Craws and the Snapes. Such a pity, isn't it?"
Just then, a scream of pure anguish and pain rang out, heartbreakingly loud and poignant despite having come from somewhere deep within the mansion itself. Severus froze with a fear and deep anxiety of his own, because he knew it had come from Jennifer.
"Finally, it is about time," Baylor said in such an even tone that Severus felt a surge of hatred boil up in him. In desperation, Severus turned his attention to the door, blasting it with as powerful a shot as he could muster, but it barely dented the surface. "Don't bother, she'll be dead before you could ever hope to get in there," Baylor said calmly, leaning against the wall of the mansion while still holding his wand out guardedly. "Never fear, I'm quite sure Lord Lucius will bring the corpse out for you to inspect, although I warn you, it won't be pretty."
Growling, Severus lunged at him, quickly overpowering him from the sheer force of his anger as he drew Baylor out by his cloak.
"Show me," Severus said darkly.
"What?" Baylor said in confusion.
"I Wish for you to show me what she is going through at this very moment, by experiencing it yourself," Severus said, his voice sounding strange… distant… hollow…loud… echoing… his face haunted and his eyes flashing with a sudden unleashed power that was beyond Baylor's comprehension. Baylor's eyes widened then in pure terror as wounds began to appear across his face and hands… burns… bruises…slashes… and deep cuts criss-crossing each other so much that one could barely see the true color of the skin underneath.
Baylor began to scream then, falling to the ground as his crippled right hand curled up strangely, his other holding onto his thigh, convulsing disturbingly before his body began to pour with cold sweat, his sobbing cries for mercy so agonizing that Severus stumbled back in pure horror.
"Kill me now, I beg you, please!" Baylor whimpered, his body growing strangely rigid as shock began to overtake him.
"Oh, well done! Well done indeed!" A woman's voice called out to him with appreciation Severus looked up to see Ciardoth laughing and clapping with sheer delight. "I always knew you had a sadistic streak within you somewhere!"
Four dead trees uprooted themselves at her command and were even now standing behind her, three of them carrying the tightly bound Andrew, Alex, and Aurelius, who all looked as if they were trying to shake off a spell placed upon them to keep them sedated.
"You are the one responsible for this, Ciardoth," Severus said, turning towards her, his wand clutched in his hand, while Baylor still whimpered pitiably near his feet.
"Oh, no-no-no, I wouldn't even think of taking credit for this! Everything that has happened Jennifer brought onto herself willingly! I merely have the pleasure of reaping the reward!" she said with delight. "Oh dear, it seems poor Baylor has found his wand!" Severus spun around then to face him, but before he could make a move, a green light wafted over Roger as he turned the wand on himself, instantly going limp as the Killing Curse took hold. "Too late," she tsked. "I really think you're losing your touch. Do you suppose your wife will do the same? Do you want to save her? You could try to get past the barricade, I suppose, and the six Death Eaters waiting in between, and the other set of doors I created myself to keep you out. I won't interfere. I'll be much too busy with these three," she said with a wicked smile. "So there, then, is your next dilemma, Severus Snape! Attempt to save your wife from Malfoy and leave these three morsels to me, or try to rescue your children and leave your wife to her fate," she said so mockingly that Severus slowly turned to her.
"There is no dilemma," Severus said evenly, the anger and fear disappearing from his voice now as he stepped onto the path to face her. "I know what Jennifer would want me to do as plainly as I know myself. Unhand my children, Ciardoth!"
Ciardoth put a finger to her cheek, pretending to contemplate it, unaware that behind her Aurelius was mouthing something to Alex who then turned and did the same to Andrew, who nodded, turning invisible.
"Hm. No," she said. "No, I think it'll be more fun to play with them a bit before they die. Isn't it true that dead trees upon this world of yours are known to attract lightning?" she said wickedly, a ball of electricity forming in her hand. "Which one would you care to see die first? Or should I go fetch the missing girl before we start?"
"I think you should be more concerned with the fact that one of your prisoners just escaped," Severus said calmly. Ciardoth turned around in surprise to see that one of the trees were empty, but then squinted.
"Fool! You don't think I know he's still there? He may be invisible, but he will still feel this!" she snarled, throwing the lighting in her hand and blasting it up against the tree while Alex and Aurelius barked out a warning. Aurelius bowed his head, while Alex howled in despair, calling her brother's name out over and over while Ciardoth looked incredibly smug, waiting to see the reaction on Severus' face. But much to her disappointment, that reaction didn't come. He was still standing as still as a statue until he finally caught a movement out of the corner of his eye.
"Father, catch!" Andrew's voice said from out of nowhere, a sparkling object flying through the air. Ciardoth, instantly alerted that Andrew had indeed escaped hurriedly turned her attention to where she had heard it and pointed, lightning bolts shooting out at him, blasting the garden for every time she saw a rustle among the brush and sending the entire place ablaze as Severus snatched up the medallion Andrew had thrown at him and placed it around his neck.
Just then, a strange sensation went through Severus that made his spine and hands tingle. The dark cloud that had been plaguing him for months lifted completely away, filling him with a sense of release. His eyes went towards his ring then, staring at it for a long time.
"What was that?" Alex asked, frightened.
"A death, I think," Aurelius said grimly, uncomfortably aware of the growing heat of the brushfire behind them.
"Wait! You can't mean…"
"Enough! Now you will face me, Ciardoth!" Severus said, getting between her and the burning brush behind him, completely unconcerned that his other two children were now directly in the path of the flames. "The game is over, and it is a game you cannot win!"
"Fool, I have already won!" Ciardoth boomed, drawing herself up against him. "Your children will now die a painful death, Severus, just as your wife has, and you will follow them!"
"Have you seen their deaths, Ciardoth?" Severus challenged her. "Have you truly even seen mine?"
"I have seen yours!" Ciardoth boomed triumphantly. "You will die from my own hand!"
"As, I now suspect, you will die from mine," Severus said, watching her expression change. "Why else would you go to such lengths to attempt to torture me? Because you realize that my death is your oldest memory now; that is where your memory stops! You remember that someday I will successfully keep you from destroying this universe, even at the cost of my own life! But you will not be killing me today, for I suspect I didn't have this on when you recall it happening," he said, showing her the Aegis around his neck.
"You know nothing! Nothing of what I remember!" she screamed. "You've chosen to leave your children unprotected, and now I shall kill them. I'll kill them all!"
As she turned her attention back to the children, Severus got between them, fully expecting to do everything in his power to keep her away from them. But then something occurred that changed his plans dramatically, for all around him witches and wizards began to appear in alarming numbers. Surprise and confusion registered on Ciardoth's face before she sent a blast of lightning that tossed everyone backwards as she disappeared into the night. It was after Severus got a better look at those who had Apparated around them that he began to realize that everything they had been going through outside the mansion was nothing compared to what must had happened within.
Jennifer picked herself up from where the Death Eaters had tossed her down the bottom of the stairs, her eyes having trouble adjusting to the room whose only light source were tiny slats near the ceiling on the outside wall, positioned to let in light from outside. The glass covering them had long been broken and water had seeped within over time, and a dangerous mold crept over the walls and distorted family portraits dangling precariously from bits of damaged wire. The dirt floors were mostly clear of debris although caked heavily of dust and soured soil; and the only piece of furniture in the room was a partially corroded standing mirror.
She bit back tears as she stared at the monster that looked back at her within it, so covered with wounds that she could no longer see herself or her own thoughts at all. It was the same face she had seen so many months ago in the back of McGonagall's shop. It had been a warning to her end, she realized now. Not that she could have stopped it. She was still standing there staring at it when the door opened again and Lucius Malfoy came down, a triumphant smile upon his face as he caught her standing there mesmerized by the mirror.
"Just another pretty face," Lucius said. "You know, that's what we should have put on your grave marker. Fitting, don't you think? Wouldn't work for Severus, of course…something like traitor to the end, perhaps. Aurelius… like father like son, comes straight to mind. What, no response? I swear you're no fun at all, today, Jennifer."
"Go to hell, Lucius," Jennifer murmured.
"Oh, eventually I will, yes, I suppose, but after you. You've cast your fair share of dark magic, haven't you, and killed with it too, so if there is such a place, I'm quite sure I will not be alone," he said, holding her wand out to her. "But beauty goes before age, they say, yes? And besides, Ciardoth has assured me that she remembers hearing you scream out in nearly incomprehensible pain as she's playing cat and mouse with Severus. I trust your death will soon follow it, but not too soon, I hope," he added cheerfully, immediately on his guard when she took her wand.
"This time, Jennifer, there will be no second chances," Lucius continued, his mocking tone suddenly turning dark as he began to back away from her. Readying her wand, Jennifer did the same, for she too had no desire to turn her back to him. "This time, one of us will die."
"Well, at least that should be old hat to you, since you've already done it once," Jennifer said coolly.
"I was thinking of something a bit more permanent," Lucius said. "Although I must admit, considering how much pain I plan to put you through, the thought of you having to haunt the basement of the very house where Voldemort made his first kill is very enticing."
"If I come back to haunt anything, it'll be to haunt you, Lucius," Jennifer swore, taking her stance.
Without even the token of the count, Lucius struck with the quickness of a snake, Jennifer dodging with the agility of a mongoose before casting a strike of her own. But even though she didn't feel the pain, Jennifer felt her injuries slowing down her movements, causing her to sometimes stumble at awkward times while Lucius came at her with an inhuman strength, his power vastly beyond what she had last remembered. He had been a tough opponent then… there had been many times she had thought that she had lost her life… but now it was much worse. He came at her with what seemed to be limitless energy, and it wasn't long before Jennifer felt the dampness of blood on her skin despite her countless counterattacks.
But Jennifer unlike Lucius was not there to cause pain… she was there to kill. Pulling herself together after a storm of tiny stones came out of nowhere to pelt her from all sides, Jennifer raised her wand and pointed.
"Avada Kedavra!" she boomed, keeping her hand steady despite its sudden tendency to shake. But Malfoy had dove behind the mirror, and exclaiming in surprise, Jennifer herself had to roll as the beam glanced off of it and went over her head.
"Ah, ah, ah, much too easy!" Lucius tsked at her. "You're really in no condition to do anything of the sort, anyway! Look at yourself! Even your mother's corpse wasn't the sight that you are now."
"Morte acidium!" Jennifer snarled in anger, chanting the spell's mantra as a cloud came towards Lucius. Lucius immediately began chanting the countercurse to the Acidic Eulogy, knowing that one break in the chant would mean his certain doom, his wand a feeble block against the cloud that now hovered in mid air, pushed back and forth by the power of the opposing spells.
But just when it looked as if Jennifer was finally getting the upper hand, the shaking in her hand that had started a mere minute ago suddenly began to get worse. Had she any doubts what was causing it, it ended with the feeling that she was being ripped apart from all directions, the chant ending with an uncontrollable scream of incredible pain as the time on the Liquid Mercy ran its course. Nothing she had experienced before, even the torment of Voldemort's men all those years ago, came close to the terrible sensation she had in that moment, her head growing heavy as she felt her wand fall out of her injured hand and her body fell to the ground. Already part of her was disconnecting out of sheer necessity, aware of her body convulsing without completely feeling it for it was too much to bear. It was almost too painful to even cry, her sobs coming out dry, and each breath brought forth a new wave of sensation that wracked her body once again.
Lucius ended his chant and stared at her in surprise a moment before he began to chuckle, bending to put his hands on his knees and shaking his head in a state of almost disbelief and giddiness. He shook his head once more as he stood, a wide smile on his face as he walked over and stood above her, kicking her with his foot and causing another string of cries to come out of her.
"Please, just kill me now," Jennifer got out at last, her eyes half-closed and her body shuddering again, making her sob with every movement.
"At last, at last," Lucius said, pacing in front of her fallen form for a moment, watching the sweat begin to bead across her face. "I have waited so long for this moment! So very long! You can't blame me for wanting it to go on! But I suppose you won't last much longer, will you?" he said, watching as her form began to stiffen, kicking her again. The cry of pain and protest went out again, but it was weaker, and much less piercing. "I so loathe to have the fun end after all of these months, but then I'll have the benefit of recalling it for days to come. I assure you I will relish it as I relish what I do next. Oh, but I haven't told you that yet, have I?" Lucius said mockingly. "I debated long and hard about what death spell to use upon you, but then in a sudden epiphany it came to me! Such serious wounds you have, Jennifer, and yes, not allowed to worsen. But what do you suppose would happen if I cast the Bleeding Death Curse on you and they all started bleeding at once? Oh yes, I'm sure even in your half-conscious state you can imagine the fate awaiting you. I can't wait to see the face of your husband when he at last sees what befell his once beautiful wife. That indeed will be the ultimate revenge."
Jennifer closed her eyes as he raised his wand, immersed in grief. At least it was going to be over now, she told herself, her thoughts dwelling upon the question of afterlife as she sensed movement over her and the words of a quickly chanted spell.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Jennifer braced herself, waiting for the spell to take her. But that wasn't the spell he had planned. Had he changed his mind at the last second out of sudden mercy? In her state of shock and pain, she didn't comprehend at first that something was the matter with her having the time to contemplate it. Not until she felt something heavy and painfully come down on her legs and the sound of a loud thud. While she was still attempting to understand what had just happened, the heaviness from her legs was rolled away and she felt a pair of strong arms lifting her head and shoulders up and against him, raising a hand below her nose to see if she was breathing.
"Please tell me I'm not too late," said a low panicked voice. "God, if you exist, help me out here,and I'll take back everything I've ever said or thought about you." The voice was so warm, familiar, and yet strangely afraid… that Jennifer opened her eyes at last, slowly focusing to see a pair of stormy eyes and unmistakable Craw jaw line.
"Daddy?" Jennifer murmured in surprise, her voice trembling.
"It's all right, Jen-girl," Thomas said with relief, using the wand in his hand to call up a blanket to cover her with. "It's over now, everything's going to be all right. You hear that, Alice?" he added, kissing Jennifer's head gently. "It's done, your baby's safe. No more running, he won't harm our family ever again."
"Dad…"
"Shh, keep quiet, Jen-girl, just hold on. It won't take them long to find us now. They'll be coming for me," Thomas said quietly, glancing up at a painting on the wall. "Go let Dumbledore know I've found her. He'll know where we'll be."
"Coming for you?" Jennifer murmured just as a loud banging began to sound off on the door. She tilted her head a bit, trying to discern what he was talking about, when she saw the corpse of Lucius Malfoy. His dead face had an expression of fear and surprise upon it, and Jennifer realized he must have turned, warned by the flashing of the ring on his hand. Suddenly, the total significance over what had just happened hit her, and she started, pain wracking through her body again, but this time, she didn't care. "No! No you can't have! No, they'll kill you!" she said in horror.
"That doesn't matter now, Jen-girl, please stay calm," Thomas said firmly.
"No, you've got to get out of here!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Thomas snapped. "I knew the consequences, and I accept them! I'll die in peace knowing he can never hurt you again! Death means nothing to me, Jen, it never did. But you… you mean everything to me. You keep your mother alive just by existing, don't you see that? You are proof that she didn't die in vain!"
"They can't take you," Jennifer said, bursting into tears. "It can't happen like this!"
The booming sound grew louder and louder until a great force blasted the door open. An army of Ministry Enforcers stormed down the stairs with their wands ready to strike, but they stopped at the bottom of the stairs, stunned by the sight of Jennifer's injuries and the fallen corpse of Lucius near her feet.
"Quick! Keep the Minister from coming down here!" DeMille barked at the others, a few scrambling for the stairs.
"Belay that!" Draco snapped from the doorway above, the Enforcers. "You! You! You're not doing anything, go help the others put that brush fire! And you go make sure the other prisoners get transported back!" he ordered the three who had moved to try and stop him. But when Draco got to the bottom, he too turned to stare. Thomas looked up from where he held a barely recognizable figure who was sobbing uncontrollably.
"I surrender," Thomas said, slowly taking out the wand he had used and tossing it towards them. "Please, just save my daughter."
"No, no please! I want to stay with you! Please!" Jennifer said in a panic.
"You're going to hurt yourself more, try and calm down!" Thomas said, trying to step away.
"No! No, I won't let you!" Jennifer cried out hysterically despite Thomas' attempts to calm her.
Draco suddenly raised his wand, a white light enveloping her then as he intoned a complex spell. The Enforcers stared at him in surprise as she fell into a deep sleep.
"Get a medical team down here! Get Snape! Get a coroner!" Draco ordered, attempting to turn away from the scene only to catch sight of both Jennifer's sleeping form and that of his father's corpse in the mirror. Several Enforcers were scrambling behind him to do as they were told. "And get him out of my sight," he added, gritting his teeth and gesturing towards Thomas. "Now."
Silently, Thomas offered up his arms to the Enforcer who had come forward, gazing back forlornly at his daughter. Draco slumped to his knees beside the two forms, his stony expression hiding what torment was raging within him at that moment.
