Chapter 6: Voldemort Loves Control
Harry and Hermione walked through the streets of Dumbledore's childhood, Godrics Hollow. Harry knew, somehow, that Dumbledore would be there.
He was right.
"I'm not surprised you found me, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I know it isn't a great hiding place, but I just had to come back to where it all started, if only one last time."
"I figured," said Harry.
"In light of all that's happened," said Hermione, "it only makes sense that you'd be drawn here."
Dumbledore smiled, but it was dull and lifeless. It was hard for Harry to see the man he used to know buried in the layers of sadness that he now wore. There was no real twinkle, or life left in him.
They walked the streets in silence for awhile, just the three of them.
---
Lucius could feel the tension in the air. The Dark Lord had called for a meeting in the Forbidden Forest, but had yet to arrive. The Death Eaters stood in two half circles; on one side stood the loyal, and on the other side stood the traitorous.
Bellatrix spoke first. She extended an arm and pointed her stiff, dirty little finger at Lucius.
"You are unworthy of being called a Death Eater. How dare you turn against the Dark Lord."
Her finger turned to a few others then.
"All of you," she said. "He is no fool. Do you think he does not know of your deceit?"
"And what proof do you have, Bella?" someone called out.
"What proof do I need?" she said.
"Is that all?" mocked Lucius. "Quiet down then."
"I've overheard you talking," she said with an evil grin. "Even if the Dark Lord does not yet know, he will once I tell him what you've been up to!"
She pulled out her wand in threat. Lucius chuckled.
"Does it feel good to be his little tattletale, Bella? Does it feel good to rat out your fellow brothers? Does it get you any closer to romancing him?"
She shrieked in anger and charged towards him with her wand upright and ready. He withdrew his wand just in time to shield off her coming spell.
"You dare attack me?" he yelled. "Crabbe, call the Order. This must come to an end."
"The Order!" screamed Bella. "What? Can't you handle me alone?"
It did not take long for the Order to arrive. They came prepared to fight.
And fight they did.
Lucius was hit a few times by Everte Statum, but always got his footing back. He fought with pride: his head high and posture tight. He was aware of a few Cruciatus Curses flying around, but did well to avoid casting them himself, for the chaos of the moment would have nicked his aim.
When the Loyal few were finally subdued, they were tied up against the trunks of the trees. All, that is, except Snape. Lucius himself had tied him up, but when Black saw it, he removed him from his confines.
"What is this?" Lucius asked. "I know a Loyal when I see one."
"Then you must be blind," said Sirius. "Snape is, and always has been, part of the Order."
"What?" yelled a voice from a tree trunk.
Lucius could feel nothing but his rage begin to boil. It was one thing to decide as a group that their Lord was weakening, at the demonstration of weakness, but it was quite another thing to admit to early, individual disloyalty, and at the height of Voldemort's reign.
"A double agent?" he asked, trying to keep himself from yelling.
"Traitor!"
"Fool!"
Someone threw a rock at Snape, who ducked, but did not flinch. Then the forest filled with voices of anger and screams and threats of physical abuse, whilst the Order members tried desperately to grasp what was happening.
With what must have been the tenth rock thrown his way, Snape opted to leave, and escaped into the forest.
Lucius didn't send anyone after him.
"How dare you," said a voice unfamiliar to Lucius, who turned around to see the angry faces of the Order members.
"You have broken our rules," said Sirius. "We don't attack our own."
With that, Black turned his wand to the captured Death Eaters and killed them, one by one. The demonstration enraged Lucius.
"You want to play then, Black?" he said. "Let's see how brave you really are."
He sent an Everte Statum out as fast as he could say the words, and it hit Sirius flat in the chest, knocking him back. It only took a moment for the rest of them to join in: natural enemies given the okay to attack. They fought hard and cold, with spells that made impacts.
By the time Voldemort arrived at the scene, there were five total who had already tasted the bite of death.
Voldemort watched in awe until all realised he was present and ceased their spell-casting, like children caught in a food-fight. When all was quiet again, he clapped.
"Well done," he said. "Well done. To think that I had expected to see my friends waiting for me to show, not knowing that they were in fact perfecting their skills.
"But probably the best surprise, is finding the Order of the Phoenix performing the killing curse. How marvelous! Tell me, how does it feel to hold that kind of power, to look into the eyes of another human being, and decide for them whether they should live or die? Does it feel good? Does it feel good?"
"Well," said Sirius, "I'm looking into your eyes now, and all I see is death!"
"I accept the challenge," he said, bowing.
The fighting continued, this time directed to the Dark Lord, who was far too powerful a wizard to take on individually. They all worked together, or what was left of them, for their common cause, their common goal.
And perhaps Voldemort would have won, had he arrived just a little later and had a smaller group to fight off. But as it was, even his immense power could not contain the group of highly trained fighters, all with the aim of beating him to a pulp. He was seized, kicked, spit upon, and killed.
His last words were, "I die now, but I will return!"
His last sound was laughter: the laughter of a madman, who faced his death at last.