A/N: Alright, my new philosophy, since I completely bombed those tests this week, if I keep writing then I the writer's block won't have a chance to settle in. So here's the next installment, hope you enjoy and don't forget to review and let me know if you like/hate it!
~Kandimoon
P.S: Pay close attention to the times of day, there will be four pivotal events coming up, each event is associated with each power and each power is associated with a specific time of day, if you're confused just ask, but wait to read it first.
Chapter Fourteen
"Report your progress young Malfoy." The snake like creature asked the pale haired boy before him. From the back of the circle a tall dark haired man watched with interest, waiting eagerly to report the news to his mentor and advisor. Snape, though good at hiding emotions very well, pitied the boy as much as he worried about him. He knew Draco's mission, for he had been helping him achieve it as part of his spy routine. However, he knew deep down the boy wanted to be nothing like his father, and only listened to him because he wanted to earn his father's respect and approval. If Lucius wanted his son to sacrifice himself before the Dark Lord this very second, Snape knew Draco would not hesitate for a second. Yes, he pitied the foolish boy, but he still cared about his well being.
"Her will is almost bent, my lord. She has become…attached…to me and listens to my requests and her powers have advanced quite nicely." The boy responded, his head bowed in respect to the more powerful figure before him.
"You have not become…attached to her?"
"No my lord."
"And the others?"
"Air still refuses to join us, he will help neither cause. Earth is stubborn; the Mudblood Gryffindor is too set in her ways to change. She suspects something with Fire, however. She keeps her close and watches her tentatively. It won't be long before she retaliates."
"Then we attack."
She watched her son dress in his dark robes and pick up the white mask laid out on the dining table. Her husband was upstairs also preparing to leave. She knew what they were leaving for; they had only been home a few days when they were called away again by the evil Dark Lord.
She could sense him slipping further and further from her grasp.
'Goddess protect my son.'
"You don't have to follow him tonight." She told him softly, not wanting her husband to overhear and doubt her loyalties.
"It is a privilege and an honor to be joining their party tonight." He responded while glancing at his mother quizzically. 'Odd, she's not acting like her usual arrogant self…' he thought to himself.
"I know I haven't been there for you much in the last few years, but please listen to me. I love your father very much, but it pains me to know what he does, what he gets pleasure from doing. It pains me to watch you follow in his footsteps…" She pleaded, her blue eyes searching those of her son's.
He didn't know what to say at the moment. For the first time that he could remember, he was rendered speechless. He saw the pain flash through her eyes and it hurt him to know it was hurting her. But he wanted, no….needed…his father's love and respect, and if this was the only way so be it.
"Like I said, it is a privilege and an honor to be joining their party tonight." He replied and turned away so he couldn't see her pain.
"There'll be bloodshed, I can sense it."
"Not by my hands, I'll promise that much."
She nodded, feeling a very slight relief at the promise she had given him. What he didn't know was she had a premonition about tonight's 'party'. She saw very clearly who, or whom would be the target of the party. It sickened her and hurt her, but she could not give away her powers, for if her husband found out he would use it for the dark path and she would not be able to stand the torture they would put her through. Her son would participate, willing. She was reaching her breaking point and she knew it. Her husband, the love of her life, never truly loved or cared for her, it was all for her power. Now her son, her precious child was becoming a monster just like him, she begged the Goddesses for help, but they did nothing, just responded in riddles and rhymes with promises that could not be brought to life.
He was ready to leave; her husband was already at the door waiting for his faithful son to come to him. Her son turned to her and tried to read the emotions plaguing her tired soul.
"I love you, you always had my love and respect." She whispered to him, fighting back the tears in her eyes to keep up the appearance before her husband who could not hear their conversation. With a brief nod of his blonde head he turned and walked out of the door.
"Goodbye my son."
Midnight. Her time of day, the time when her magic was strongest…
They killed her parents at midnight.
She was prepared for it, she knew being so close to Harry Potter and having the power she did, her parents would be found and sacrificed before the Dark Lord.
But it didn't make the pain hurt any less…
She stood on top of the Astronomy deck, as was her usual habit at this time of night. She watched the barn owl fly towards her carrying the black and knew, knew somewhere within her that it was about her parents. She was right, her intuition was rarely ever wrong nowadays.
Dear Miss Granger,
We regret to inform you that your parents have been killed this night by the hands of Death Eaters.
Sincerely,
Cornelius Fudge,
Minister of Magic
It was short and written in the tattered scrawl of the worthless Minister of Magic, 'the stupid fool,' she thought bitterly to herself before crying herself in a vicious rage. She hugged her arms around herself, not feeling the bitter cold of early January, and watched the moon slowly move across the sky…
Dawn approached, but she stayed where she was, her feet ached, her head throbbed, and her knees threatened to collapse, but she stood still in place, her eyes shifting from the setting moon to the rising sun. A new dawn approaches. She heard footsteps behind her.
"He'll pay for the pain he's caused me."
He watched her, he watched her all night from inside, letting her come to terms with her pain before consoling her. He made up his mind at that moment, he would risk life itself for this mere girl.
"He'll pay for the pain he's caused us all." He came up behind her, arms wound slowly around her body, his shock of dark hair resting lightly on her lithe shoulder.
"How did he kill your mother? Did it hurt? Was she in pain before he…" She choked on her sentence, holding back a sob she bit her lip to stop before she made a fool of herself in front of him.
He knew she was hurting; he wanted to lie and say that his mother's death was quick and painless, but he couldn't lie to her, he would never be able to lie to her. If she deserved anything it was the truth, even if it hurt. Besides, each death was different for different people. Potter's parent's died quickly with the Avada Kedavra, others like his mother were not so lucky.
"I was barely two years old when she died. My mother's cousin kept her memory alive for me. Each night she would sing me to sleep with a lullaby, so sad and haunting, and she always smelled of vanilla. She went to school with Potter's parents, though she was a year behind them. I've been searching, but it was rumored she was seeing someone during her 6th year here, you're well familiar with the library maybe you can help my research. I think whomever she was seeing is a link as to why she was attacked, impregnated, and left school in a hurry. She spent over two years on the run from Voldemort's clutches until he found us hiding out in the States. They were looking for me, but she was intelligent enough to place an invisibility charm on me and then plead innocent to her attackers. They tortured her with hexes and curses, both legal and illegal, until they ended the torture with Avada Kedavra." He no longer sounded bitter and vengeful like he usually did when talking about his mother's death, but rather he sounded remorseful and defeated.
"Do you remember who killed her?" Hermione asked in a small quiet voice.
"They were wearing their masks, and I don't remember hearing their names, but I do know that there were two: one with long pale hair and one with long sleek black hair." He replied to her.
"Does the pain ever go away?" She turned and looked into his amber colored eyes, eyes that have seen wisdom and reality at such a tender age.
"No, but it'll lessen over time if you keep the happier memories with you and never forget them."
Her face was streaked with crystalline tears, her eyes red and puffy from crying most of the night away, her hair was windblown and standing on end, and her dark blue wizarding robes were creased and rumpled; he thought she never looked more beautiful.
"Gavin I- that is, thank you, for everything…I…" He cut her off in mid-sentence, capturing her lips as easily as she captured his heart, and him hers.
Everything has changed…
He was on his way home with his father, it was dusk, a full day after he helped destroy a dozen lives of Muggle and Muggle-loving people alike. He was the first to notice the crowd of wizards standing near the ledge behind the mansion. His father approached first.
"What is going on here?!" He demanded in a voice that rang with authority and power.
"Your wife, sir." A passerby noted and walked to the edge and pointed down.
"She jumped an hour ago, Ministry's on its way."
Draco looked over the ledge at the site of his mother's tattered body floating amongst the water and rocks below. He felt sick to his stomach as he walked numbly inside the house and up to his private chambers, not bothering to even glance over at his father's shocked face.
"Goodbye my son."
She meant goodbye forever…
His hands were tainted with blood of those he helped kill the night before, his mind was numb from the pain of losing his mother, the only person to have truly loved and respected him, she died because of his choices, his decisions, his actions.
He was now evil, she had been so pure, and she died and not him.
No more, no more falsities, no more lies and promises. There was only one place who could offer him comfort, only one person forgiving enough to help him, to wash him clean again, to penance his mistakes. He would leave for Hogwarts immediately.
The whole family was in tears; the house was in mourning over the loss of the oldest child. The brilliant, once Head Boy, Bill Weasley was brutally slaughtered while helping a Muggle family during an attack in the night. It was now the next morning and the youngest Weasley was out on her cliffs, red cloak billowing in the cold January breeze, ritual staff in hand, eyes fighting to hold back the threat of tears.
Her mind was in shambles; she was numb to everything around her.
"Your pain is deep child." A voice hissed from behind her.
"My pain is deep, and caused by your hands."
"No, I did not kill your brother, Fire. I did not, nor did I plan to ever, kill one of your own."
She glared her eyes forward, not daring to look back, but still curious to what the stranger meant by their last comment.
"I know your brother's killer."
"I want his name, so I may extract my revenge."
"Your brother died at your lover's hands, he meant to kill him."
"No, no, he would not kill one of mine, he wouldn't!" She shouted in tears; rage growing from the pit of her soul, pain and anguish spilling over brown eyes…smoke formed from deep within the pits of her irises, her eyes were changing, coming into light.
'He said his father had plans, he knew there would be raids; he knew he would have to participate. I trusted him with all that I had, and he betrayed me.' She thought darkly, she could still hear the sobs, the pain and despair coming from her mother from far inside the small house. She couldn't take it anymore; she would revenge her brother's death.
"Join me."
The sun shone brightly overhead the two of them, the clock inside struck the hour of noon. Virginia Weasley, Fire Goddess, turned to face the snake-like creature behind her. In his red beady eyes she could see hell, in his eyes she could see salvation, she would become both powerful and fearful, she would get her revenge, and he would die bleeding from her very hands.
"Yes, Lord Voldemort, I pledge my life to you."
A/N: hehe, I'm so evil. Don't worry it's still a happy ending like I promised in the prologue! I just need to make Ginny evil for now cause it fits the plot. So the tables have turned, notice I stressed each time of day each event took place. Earth's time of day was midnight, when Hermione lost her parents. Air's time of day was dawn when Gavin comforted Hermione and promised to help her in the fight. Water's time of day is dusk, when he found his mother dead and sought refuge and hope from Dumbledore and turned to the Light, and Fire's time of day is noon, when she becomes evil. I doubt I'll be able to post anymore this week, I still have two tests to study for and this weekend is indoor guard championships, so hopefully I'll be able to post sometime next weekend if I get time. Please keep up the reviews! I really want to know what you think of the story!!!!!
~Kandimoon