Chapter Seven
Late evening, I felt that stinging pain trace itself along the pattern tattooed on my forearm. If you can imagine someone taking a red-hot needle and dragging it deep into your flesh, you can see why it would be something to wake me up. Little Cassandra woke, watching me through the bars of her cradle. As I began dressing, my partner watched too, frowning as the baby began to fuss. I walked over, picking her up under her little arms and hugging her. "Aw, what's wrong little Cassandra? I'll be back. Bellatrix woke, looking up at the clock and looking back at me. "She's fussy, Bella." She rolled her eyes and sat up.
"So's our boss. Do you have to go? It's your first night of sleep in days.." She tried taking the baby but she wouldn't budge, and just kept a firm grasp on me.
I frowned and nodded, kissing Cassandra's head and finally prying her tiny hands off my shirt. "Don't worry Cassie, I'll be back soon." She burst into tears, it would take Bella hours for her to get settled again. I kissed her good-bye and apparated from the bedroom. Cassandra's cries grew softer and softer as I faded away from her voice. It made me wonder why she was so worried and afraid.
I apparated into my boss's chambers, he stood waiting for me. I removed my hood and pulled my hair away from my eyes. "Rodolphus, good. You have an assignment for me. He poses a great threat to our mission, and could very possibly harm the new little evil. Take him out." He gave me the address and sent me away.
I apparated to the street, pulling my hood over my head and keeping hidden out of view. A couple walked past, holding each other and laughing, I looked at a picture attached to my given address, fortunately for the couple they weren't my targets. I hated working by myself, Bellatrix would create a diversion by the murder of her victim, and could quickly get rid of any auror in the area, letting me do my half of the job. The night was still young, it made me almost nervous to perform such a task alone. Above me was a window, so I crawled inside. I picked up some mail that was on a table, reading the addressed envelope, smiling as it was the right home. But something wasn't right..
The person was a wizard, I wouldn't doubt that. There was just something different.. I heard footsteps from above, it wouldn't be easy if they were awake. Slowly I crept upstairs, keeping my breath low by biting into my hood and breathing into it. I pressed against the door to a potential bedroom, grasping the doorknob and slowly twisting it, bringing myself inward against the door. Just as I walked in, a streak flew by my face. "Leave you filthy death eater, if you know what's good for you!" I glared, grabbing my wand and firing back. I missed. "HAH. It'll be your death, scum!" I dove into the room, grabbing the guy and throwing him to the ground. He forced himself away, I fired too fast. He went down..
But I wasn't the only witness..
Another auror was directly across, and she saw the whole thing from her window. I hated aurors. She glared at me, firing a shot through her window, I only fell to make her think she had me. I wasn't hit, but I had to leave. I removed my robe and wrapped it on my victim, quickly writing a false letter in the auror's name. The woman burst through the door, screaming for her back up. I quickly changed the appearance of the deceased auror, making him look less familiar, then quickly vanished from the scene.
What the hell was the Dark Lord thinking? This was a death mission! The area had been surrounded with aurors! Bellatrix's child needed me, and yet he tried to take it all away from me! There wasn't just any old reason, I was loyal.. I was up there with my wife. I ran off to my brother's house, lately he's been on low watch, it was safe there. I couldn't have gone back home, if that auror got a hold of my face, she would have immediately went to my wife. If I were there, we'd both be in danger and quite possibly Cassandra too. Rabastan took me in. Letters couldn't have been given out now, interceptions after a murder are very common. I laid low for a few days, not knowing what would happen the very next night.
Rabastan came back after he returned from the Dark Lord. It made me wonder why I wasn't called. "You'll never believe it."
"What? Has Potter been killed?"
"Jeez, I wish. Nah, you'll never guess it."
"Just tell me, I don't feel like guessing!"
"Alright, alright. You're dead." He sat down, not bothering to take off his robe, lighting a cigarette and sighing. "Yeah, apparently you were shot in your mission. Found in the home of an auror,..blahblahblah.. Bellatrix looks like a mess, by the way."
"Well I have to go to her! She's probably so lost now!"
"No, no no.. Everyone thinks you're dead. You can't just wander the streets."
"And Bella can't think I'm dead!"
"Stay another night."
"Fine."
I stayed put. But, I was dead? The Dark Lord was quite quick to report, he knew I would die. ...He set me up. He wanted me to die. But why? I couldn't think of any possible reason. Poor Bellatrix. She would be torn by this. I knew I had to go home soon. Late that night I stared out of the window, trying to restrain the control not to burst out of the door and throttle the man I called my master. The next night, I set out to return home. It would have to be late, I was dead after all. I couldn't apparate, the cracking sound would have been too much to follow since the murder. It was a long walk, and the clouds dumped rain all over me and the earth. It was hours before I saw the one lone light shining from my home. I ran. The mud splashed up around my pant legs, feeling my hair fly behind my ears and the wind rip at my eyes and ears. I stumbled onto the porch, grabbing the door, throwing myself inside. Bellatrix fired from upstairs, running down screaming threateningly. I shielded her attack, looking up at her from the floor. The wind blew inside, lifting back her night gown and her hair, rain falling harder to the ground and on the roof of the porch. She was in shock. I picked myself from the floor, both of us meeting in embrace, pulling at each other as though it were our last minutes together. We didn't release each other, and she pulled me from my wet clothes and laid us in front of a fire, holding me, holding her.
