Hi, so here is another chapter and this was the main one. This was extremely emotional and cathartic to write and the more i did the more i wished it wasn't so but for this story to progress i had to write is as such. Next chapter will take place within the cannon of Harry Potter.

Disclaimer-Nothing is mine, just this chapter and the character of Nataylia.

Please Read and Review and let me know what you think.

Face-To-Faceless

Chapter 5-Tainted Obligation

Another year, another dawn, another raid and though they don't know it the year of 1981 will spell the years of deaths and defeats for many and a broken promise and a broken heart for one.

The year was 1981 and the war was now in full swing with no sign of either side giving up. It seemed hard to believe that the seven months ago he had killed the two Prewitt brother's. He had become in that short time one of the Death Eaters whose names had been mentioned in the newspapers, on the radio. Certainly the Dark Lord was pleased and Antonin felt every morning another thread of his sanity going as he immersed himself into the darkness that was growing steadily inside of him, feeding off him and he knew turning him into the man that he had never dreamed he could be.

He was as he had known better than his father, stronger and with more magical talent. He was married to a woman of equal strength, talent and darkness. They lived together, fought together, fucked together. The world was golden for them. The Dark Lord was on the rise, the Order of the Phoenix was being picked off one by one. Already this week they had learnt of the deaths of the McKinnon family, there were rumours that Potter, his pet mudblood and the brat they had conceived in their unholy union were due to run into hiding with their tales between their legs. The Ministry was in complete disarray, even the casualties on their sides did nothing to diminish the joy that the Death Eaters knew when they talked about 1982 being the year the Ministry fell and 1983 being the year they took Hogwarts.

The world was open to them carved open and Antonin woke up each morning with an utter determination to kill and destroy and to fight and to fuck to ensure that victory was there's. And always by his side was the dark mass of hair that was his wife curled next to him sleeping as she always did in her black underwear her ribs pressing against him, scars littering her body.

There had been a couple of bad days when he had taken a curse from Benji Fenwick that had shattered his knee that ached now in the cold weather. Nataylia had responded by blasting him into pieces with a vindictive smile. Caradoc Dearborn who had screamed at the death of his partner had then fired back and she had taken another gash to her chest that left a scar from underneath her right breast to the top of her left rib and Antonin had found his sanity taking a plunge at the thought of losing her. Already he knew that he had fallen down deep, so beyond any chance of redemption that he didn't want it.

He woke up on the morning of October 1st and breathed in the change in the air. It was clean and crisp and fresh. It seemed like winter was coming closer and he saw the change in the air. Like an old dog that could see the way the hunting had changed. He knew that today would mean something.

Nataylia was still sleeping, the sheets were rumpled around her and Antonin took a moment to appreciate that despite all the Dark Lord said he could be wrong in one regard. Love was not something that diminished you. He fought for a world where his wife would be Queen and she fought for him in the same dogged pursuit. It was intoxicating and he was drunk off it. He had been addicted to the presence of Nataylia Greengrass since was fifteen, he had wanted her since he had been old enough to want and he had loved her since he had been old enough to realise that the world was bright and golden (as gold as their living room) when she was in it.

Nataylia opened her eyes and sleepily reached for him and he pressed his naked body against her chest feeling himself stir at her touch.

"Another raid today" she said quietly. "On a muggle village of all things, at least let it be the Ministry, that's usually interesting. Raids like this are not worth getting up this early. All of these raids are making me tired. It's going to make me look as haggard and hard faced as Bellatrix"

Antonin laughed softly brushing back strands of her hair with one finger as he pushed aside the sheets. She was naked underneath them and he pushed into her lazily and saw her eyes flicker close with pleasure as he slowly began to move inside her.

"Never" he said softly. "You will never be as haggard as that which my darling. Not even Azkaban"

Nataylia laughed. "So much for never being taken alive" she said as her hands slid around to grab his hips and she lifted her legs slightly her breaths coming in little moans. Antonin growled a little continuing his ministrations his own pleasure coming in waves.

They stayed in each others arms with the sleepy satisfaction of the well loved until they got dressed and left the apartment. They didn't have much to eat. Nataylia had a horror of food rotting and if they were killed nobody would know about this little place so they wiped the fridge of anything that could go off and generally begged some food from Narcissa who was playing the Lady of the Manor to the Death Eaters with a style and a flourish that would make most butlers weep would always have a house elf stirring some kind of stew that they could take with some wine and some bread.

They left the apartment and didn't look back. Such was their believe in their survival (or at least Antonin's) they didn't believe they had to. Besides they were not the type of people who did that. One thing about them—they never planned for defeat.

Perhaps there was something to be said for the arrogance of youth.

The fight was a complete shit show.

That was what Antonin took from the very first curse. It was a combination of an ambush and a co-ordinated attack. The Order had co-ordinated and were out in full and the Ministry it seemed had tagged along for the ride and the Death Eaters were holding their own but then Dumbledore had entered the fray though why and plan for attack had gone out the window. Nothing scared Death Eaters but the man who scared their master and even Antonin Dolohov the most hardened Death Eater amongst them flinched a little when he saw the look in Dumbledore's eyes. The blue were burning and he moved backwards tripping almost over bodies of muggles gesturing to Nataylia that they should go, they should go right now.

But Nataylia was not there.

It Antonin a second to see her and he felt his gaze stop his heart beating a little bit more. She was duelling with that werewolf Lupin and she was dancing around him in that confident way. Even now she had a way of killing a man that made you want to take her by the waist. Lupin to give him a smidge of credit was doing quite well and as much as Dolohov would give to see the filthy creature fall he wanted his wife out of this mess now.

"Nataylia!" he shouted coming forwards as Travers turned to take up the duel with Potter he had half abandoned. Dumbledore reached for him too but there was such a sense of unease that Antonin didn't care. He didn't like they way that his wife was duelling Lupin, he didn't like it at all.

And then—it happened—

Nataylia caught his eyes her dark eyes sparkling and Antonin had a vivid flashback to how she had looked when she had been in that carriage and his life had been forever altered. She gave that same dark smile that was of such promise and then turned back but it was a split second too late, Lupin's curse had found his advantage and the sectumsempra had hit her the second that Dumbledore had disarmed Dolohov and his wand fell into the hand of the man that he knew would take him alive about all else but he didn't care because his eyes were focused on his wife, his legs running towards her aching and straining, air forcing its way in and out of his lungs. He swore staggering to his knees just as she fell in a graceful arc her wand casting one last spell that saw Lupin to his knees bleeding. Dumbledore reached for his errant pupil the same time Antonin reached for his wife.

She had known what had happened, clever, brave Nataylia had known what was happening. She reached with blood stained fingers for the chain around her neck, she pulled roughly and then passed him her wedding rings.

"No" he said trying to be firm but knowing that it was no good—emotion would rule this one he knew. She was dying, his wife, his dark and glamours girl, the model to his own beauty was bleeding to death in his arms and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He looked up hardly caring that he was about to beg the man that he hated for help. Dumbledore met his eyes and there was something in the bright burning blue that flickered for a second. Antonin might have even said it was compassion but the small shake of the head told him what he needed to know. Dumbledore regarded him wand out and Antonin knew that even if the Order were close by duelling the Ministry were not. Already there was one, a man with balding hair and an earing in his left ear hurrying over.

"I'll do whatever you want" he said hardly caring of the words, hardly caring of the promise that he had made this morning trapped in the warmth of his wife's legs (Merlin how had that only been this morning?) "Let me say goodbye to my wife"

Dumbledore watched him for a second as if he didn't care that Antonin had seconds to lose and then nodded.

"Kingsley, would you assist to Remus please" he murmured and the Auror shooting Dumbledore a look that clearly questioned his sanity turned and left them in something that might have been privacy. He turned to Nataylia who was white her eyes dark in her face and blood spilling over her body.

"Not…not a bad…way eh?" she wheezed and Antonin hugged her closer feeling the imprint of her against his body, the smell of her hair under his nose and the grip of her fingers against the chain around his neck, his chain. He let out a noise that might have been a sob and hugged her closer.

"Nat—"

"Hey" she said and he pulled back to look at her in the face. She was whiter than chalk but she was clinging on and Antonin had a mad instinct that perhaps she would stay alive. They could live with matching cells in Azkaban, he could live with that, he couldn't live without her.

"I love you" she said finally her finger coming up to leave one bloody print on his lips. Antonin kissed her hand uncaring of the blood. "I love you" she said again. "You arrogant sod, I love you so much"

"I love you too" he said. "You mad woman, I love you, with everything Nat—please—" and there he was. For a man who had sworn up and down that he would never beg he had done it twice and to the two people he had thought he would never have to beg to. The noise behind them dimmed out. All that he cared about was the woman in his arms and the little shallow breaths that she was making as her life at the age of twenty two came to an end.

"S'Alright Dolohov" she said with that trademark smirk. "It's ok Antonin. You'll survive this, you make em pay and you…" she gave a wet cough with blood and Antonin rocked back a little the pain becoming too much to control even for someone like him who liked it.

"You get my body back to my brother. You get my body back to Cyrus"

He looked at Dumbledore for that. He knew what Crouch insisted be done with the bodies of Death Eaters. He knew.

Dumbledore was stood overlooking the carnage as his followers were still fighting. He didn't look at Antonin but he nodded once, small and imperturbable and Antonin nodded. Nataylia smiled.

"Thank you Professor" she said using his title. Dumbledore said nothing for a second and then spoke very quietly. So quietly that Antonin had to strain his ears to hear him.

"Your Welcome…Miss Greengrass"

Nataylia reached out but it was a mark of how she fast she was failing that her arm dropped back down. Antonin kissed her again and brushed back some of her hair off her face just like he had done so this morning when the world had been golden and bright and they had been smiling and his wife had been alive in his arms and not dying in them.

"Thanks Dolohov" she said returning to his surname her eyes sparkling with that same look. "Antonin…it's…" she coughed wetly her fingers just brushing his chin and he had to chase them to kiss them.

"It's been one hell of a ride"

And then the arm fell, the eyes that had been dark and glittering went dull and still, the body went limp in his arms and Antonin knew that this war had claimed his wife, his dark glamourous wife, the girl who had teased him and loved him and held him and their was no point in clinging to anything anymore when his anchor was gone.

He knew Dumbledore was there and he kissed her pressing her close, closing those eyes until he had to be ripped apart. She fell to the ground like a little doll her hand over her stomach her eyes closed, perfect to him even in death.

He didn't remember much after that. Not of what happened to her, to the body, not the fact that he was thrown into a cell later that night.

He didn't think of anything. He didn't care of anything. He didn't even care when thirty days later he was told the Dark Lord had fallen. That the impossible had happened. The thing he never thought would happen had.

He had nothing left to think or feel anymore.

It was a long cold fourteen years before he would think of anything other than his wife again.

And then…well…then there wasn't much left of him anyway.

And with that i can confirm that there are only two more chapters left of this story!

And there you are, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will bring you the next one as soon as i can.

Next Chapter-Fourteen years have passed since Antonin was free. But the tide is turning and the Second War is about to begin. But before the Dark Lord's work can continue there are a few trips down memory lane that his faithful servant has to take.