Chapter Fourteen: Alex At Large

His pale blue cloak swayed in the breeze. He despised the bright and cheerful colors he was forced to wear, but if he was to blend in, he had to.

Alex never went against the Dark Lord. He did what he was told, and this time…

He was told to kill his best friend.

But Death Eaters don't have friends, as the Dark Lord told Alex before he left on his mission. They just have close relations with people.

If you said someone was your best friend, you might as well have been killing them as you spoke. They're good as dead anyway.

'Voldemort never forgives…Voldemort never forgets…'

Alex knew this. Why didn't Serpent Tongue? He should have remembered…he had said this to his young apprentice, Jacob, countless times. Why wasn't it embedded in his brain?

The answer, he realized rather quickly, could not be found unless Draco told it to him.

And it would take a lot of torturing to get it out of him.

Alex had been preparing for this day for a very long time. Today was the day when he would become the greatest Death Eater the world has ever seen.

Today…he would defeat Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy. And in the world's mind, this would be no easy task. But to Alex, this was just a bit of a workout.

Alex checked his wand over, seeing if there were any dents, cracks, or splits in the wood. The wand had to be perfect.

Torture was an art, not a skill. And on the best could perform it.

After he was sure his wand was, indeed, perfect, he dusted off his clothes, concealed his face beneath the horrid baby blue cloak, and began his long trek through the streets of London.

As he walked, he prepared himself. He ran over the things he would say to Draco…the curses he would use…the means of torture he would perform…

There was something in his heart that really, truly, wanted to say no. But he knew he could not trust the little tiny part of him. He had to do this.

He had no other choice.

It was strange to think that he would once do just about anything for Draco. They were closer than any of the other Death Eaters…it was horrid to think about all of the adventures they had together, all the times they had to lie to their masters just so they would stay out of trouble, and the time the two of them found love…

It was heartbreaking, but it had to be done. He had no other choice.

It was either this, or death.

Coming from an outsider's point of view looking upon this situation, you, as the reader, would probably die to save your friend's life, but it was not like that for Alex.

You see, he had worked so hard to get himself to the top. If he stopped now, it would be a long, hard road to the top again.

And, as the motto among the Death Eaters goes…

Voldemort never forgives…

Voldemort NEVER forgets.

Alex thought all of this through as he walked, and even though he remembered the fun years he spent with Serpent Tongue and there were so many reasons why he should not do this, he never changed his mind.

Then he saw him.

Draco was walking alone, his cloak hood down for some reason or another. Alex didn't really care why.

He was easier to spot then.

Alex cut down a few side streets to make himself look as though he was walking directly towards him the entire time.

"OY! Serpent Tongue!"

Draco looked up. "Alex?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out! How are you, my friend?"

"Death Eaters don't have friends, they have—"

"Close relations with someone, I know. But, it only seems fitting that, since we were so close for so long, friends should be the proper term for our relationship."

"I am no friend of yours. Your loyalty lies with the Dark Lord, not me."

"Oh, oh, oh. You are making a HUGE mistake, my friend. You see, I can help you."

"Fuck off."

"Make me."

Draco hated Alex. No, he LOATHED him.

"You want me dead. You don't care about me anymore."

Alex sighed. "I really hate it when someone spoils the ending." He pulled out his wand, screamed out a curse that cannot be translated into words that one would understand, and pointed his wand at Draco.

The pain coursing through Draco's body was immense. It felt as though Alex had just lit him on fire.

So this is what it felt like.

This was the curse that Alex alone knew how to perform.

"The Reign of Fire" was what he called it.

And it was worse than any of the Unforgiveables.

Why?

Because you never died. You were alive during everything the curse does to your body.

"Tell me something, oh Draco the magnificent. What is the motto among the Death Eaters?"

"Voldemort never…forgives. Voldemort…never forgets." It hurt to speak, but he had no other choice. Alex would throw another dose of the curse at him if he stayed silent.

"Exactly. Oh, just to let you know, you may begin to bleed out of your nose, your eyes…possibly some random cuts about your body…I just wanted to warn you. I can see some blood dripping from your nose as I speak." Alex grinned rather devilishly.

"You are…a monster." Draco put his hand to his nose to stem the flow of blood.

"Monster? Me? But don't you see the beauty of this?"

"I won't die. That's the beauty of this." Draco sneered back at him.

"The beauty? That's the worst part of the entire curse. But this is the best form of it yet, so I don't know if you will live or die."

Draco got to his feet, shaking madly as the blood poured from his eyes, his nose, and cuts were forming all over his body and began to bleed rather fiercely. He pulled out his wand, raised it above his head, and screamed,

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Within seconds, a flash of green light erupted from the tip of his wand and Alex fell.

Panting heavily, Draco went to examine Alex's body. As usual, the body was unmarked. But there was something strange about Alex.

He was still breathing.

He was stronger than the curse.

"Bastard," Draco muttered under his breath. After a few moments of watching to see if Alex would get to his feet and strangle him, he pulled out a knife, aimed…

But dropped it.

He stared at Alex for a moment, then yelled.

"I will be back for you, Alex! And my knife will be in your THROAT!"

Alex was silent, so Draco, bleeding profusely, walked away from the scene.

When he reached the doors of the Ministry of Magic, he was unable to stand any longer.

But, as Hermione ran out to save his life, she was just a second two late. His world had gone completely black.