Chapter 2:
If you asked any harden veteran of the war where his loyalties lied, the answer wouldn't be the most obvious one. We all loved the Dark Lord; that was an unquestionable fact. But look closely and one would learn that his true loyalties lied within himself.
We all sought power. We all sought glory. We all sought greatness. And we'd stop at nothing to achieve it.
I walked in long strides down the Great Hall of Malfoy Manor, as my black cloak danced in the air behind me. The corridor was dimly lit, illuminating the shadows of folds of the dark fabric. I would occasionally see other followers of the Dark Lords – some were sworn Death Eaters and others who followed our ways but had yet to join our ranks. As I walked past them, a simple nod of acknowledgement was given.
I eyed them wearily, as they whispered to each other in soft hushes. Someone, somewhere, there was always one unfaithful wizard that spoke of treachery and betrayal.
I laughed to myself. We all put our trust in the Dark Lord, yet we couldn't trust each other.
I stopped myself in front a large oak door that had the most intricate and beautiful engravings. I must have stood before this door a thousand times, but I was always hypnotized by the enchanting figures that emerged from the wooden grains and each shadow it cast flickered in the light, bringing the art to life and wonder.
The door opened and my eyes met a long and slender figure covered by the shadow of darkness.
"You're late," she said in a low whisper.
I swiftly entered the door and brushed past her quite arrogantly. I worked hard during my time as a Death Eater to earn the respect and admiration of them all. Could you blame me if I now expected it?
"I'm never late, Narcissa." I stated.
She didn't answer, but quietly shut the door. I looked around the room, which I had learned in my past years that it was once the study of Lucius Malfoy.
Key phrase: was the study of Lucius Malfoy.
Since the war began, Malfoy Manor had become one of the main safe houses for us Death Eaters. Day and night, unfamiliar faces had called this place home, including myself. Traitors and prisoners were brought here for interrogation. Gatherings with the Dark Lord were held here. I looked sadly at Narcissa. What was once a beautiful house had now become a hotel for lunatics and madmen alike.
But of course, I knew it was a way to punish Lucius for the many failures he made in the past.
My lips frowned as his name went across my mind. Lucius Malfoy. I never liked the man; never did and probably never will. Everything about him just rubbed me the wrong way. It was the way he sneered at me, the way he talked to me and the way he taunted me.
It was no hidden secret that we simply mutually despised each other's company. Every meeting had ended up in a verbal match that no one dared to get involved in. There were whispers that he had his own reasons for showing such hostility towards me; mostly out of jealously and envy.
I narrowed my eyes as I saw a mane of platinum blonde hair appeared in the corner of my eye. Speak of the bastard himself. We made eye contact and made no effort to hide the look of hatred on our faces.
"Lucius," I said in an ice tone.
"Miss Riesling. It's a pleasure you've finally graced us with your presence," he replied in a tone that matched mine.
I said nothing but smiled at him, though I was fuming inside. Did I mention I absolutely hate this man?
He must have read my mind, as he continued his taunting. "I hear from Bellatrix that you scared off another of the younger followers again today."
Again?! What does he mean again?!
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were purposely doing it," he casually said. "But how silly of me to think of you as a traitor, Victoria. After all, you're one of the Dark Lord's favourite."
"Are you accusing me of something, Lucius? If you are, then say it. Or are you too afraid to actually do something?" I snapped back.
It was his turn to stay silent, and I smugly smirked at my small win at this battle.
"I don't know what my son sees in you. You're nothing but an ungrateful arrogant witch."
I was about two seconds away from whipping my wand and throwing every curse I knew at his face. I clenched my fists tight to restrain myself, for the sake of appearances.
"You best be careful what comes out of your mouth next, Lucius." I threatened.
He smirked at me, which made me even angrier. It was the same smirk that bloody son of his was infamous for.
The tension between us was suddenly broken by a cough, which abruptly ended our battle of wits. We both whipped our heads to see the younger incarnation of Malfoy himself.
He looked so much like his father. Side by side, they emulated the same posture, the same face and the same arrogance. Some said they were the perfect image of one another, while others praise Draco for what his father lacked.
I personally agreed with the latter.
"Son," he called out.
Draco walked over to us and stood beside his father as his blue-grey eyes bore into mine. I knew what he was trying to do, and I quickly walked away without even acknowledging him.
I quickly glanced around the room and noticed that Bellatrix, Fenrir Greyback and Antonin Dolohov had joined us. Still agitated at my conversation with Lucius, I snapped, "Well? What are we waiting for? Why are we here?"
I spoke to no one in particular, but it was Narcissa who softly answered, "We've been summoned by the Dark Lord."
I heavily sighed and plopped down the couch. He rarely summoned a gathering nowadays. As the war dragged on, I noticed that the Dark Lord stopped making appearances to us, but began to seek private audiences now. Even still, he would simply disappear for months and months at a time, though no one had the courage to ask him about his whereabouts.
"Did my father anger you again?"
I looked up and saw that Draco had taken a seat beside me, and I felt a bit of the anger subside. We had a fair distance between us, and neither made physical contact with one another. In the public eye, we were comrades, not lovers, as we were careful to keep our companionship a secret. Though evidently, we were not careful enough for I had an inkling feeling that his parents knew that I spent most nights with their beloved son.
"Anger is a bit of an understatement, Malfoy," I muttered bitterly.
I was careful to only use his surname in public. It was a way to distinguished between father and son, but mostly it was a way to remind myself to keep my distance.
He said something, but I didn't hear it as we were suddenly graced with the presence of the name who we couldn't speak of.
He stood magnificently in the middle of the room, and I noticed everybody, including myself had immediately stood straight up with an air of confidence and superiority. His black cloak draped effortlessly off his shoulders hiding whatever skeletal figure that laid behind.
Bellatrix immediately went knelt down to his feet, "It's been too long since you've summoned us, my Lord."
He didn't move, but looked down at her. Whether he was annoyed or flatter by her unwavering devotion, he didn't show it. "Don't be so happy I'm here, Bellatrix."
She looked up at him and slowly retreated back to the where the others were standing along the walls.
His movements were slow and melodic. Each step he took sounded like a heartbeat that was fighting to stay alive. "Antonin, what are the latest developments concerning Potter and his friends?"
The older Death Eater looked startled that he was called out, but took a step forward with his head held up high. I noticed that even with all the confidence he presented, his voice was meek and humble. "Our scouts have yet to pinpoint an exact location for Potter. He comes and goes like the shadows of the darkness. Our latest report was a potential sighting near the southern coasts, but when we went to search for him, we found nothing."
I let out a small sigh under my breath; Antonin's report was nothing special. The hunt for Harry Potter had been happening since the war had started, and yet even with all the strongest and cleverest Death Eaters trying to locate him, he's always managed to remain one step ahead of us. Personally, I reckoned it was the Granger girl that made Potter's disappearance possible. It was always a well-obvious fact that she held the brains during our years at Hogwarts.
The Dark Lord pursed his lips and stayed silent for a moment; though I knew he was trying to read the mind of his longest follower. I laughed inside my head - even the greatest wizard alive couldn't trust his followers.
"That's not good enough, Antonin. You better bring me Potter and his friends by the next full moon or I may be compelled to think that you are incapable of performing your duties," he hissed.
Antonin lowered his head and immediately shrank back to the far edge of the room. He kept his eyes cast downwards, as if he was suddenly ashamed of his existence.
The Dark Lord continued to pace around the room, like the silent killer he was. "Your performances as of late have been truly disappointing and yet you dare to call yourselves my faithful followers. As Death Eaters, I expect victory from you – not failure."
I looked around the room and noticed that everybody had begun to hang their heads in shame, and I couldn't help but feel slightly disgusted at their gesture.
"We should have located the Order's headquarters by now and yet we have yet to uncover this. Why is that?"
The room remained silent. No one knew how to answer, or more importantly, what to answer with. I realized that anything said to explain our lack of progress would just anger the dark wizard even more.
"Perhaps, my Lord we will need to be more thorough in our interrogations before we simply kill them off. Isn't that right, Miss Riesling?"
I whipped my head up to see Lucius staring straight at me as he spoke out loud. I narrowed my eyes at him, clenching my fists in anger. I knew what game he was playing, and I knew he was mocking me.
Did I already mention that I absolutely loathe this man?
"Are you questioning my ability to perform my duty, Lucius?" I hissed venomously.
"I'm merely suggesting that you shouldn't be so rash about resorting to a permanent solution. Bellatrix mentioned to me how you just…oh how did you say it, Bella? That she just drained the life out of the poor soul?"
I glared at Bellatrix who, being the psychotic lunatic she was, pretended she didn't hadn't done anything wrong. I shot a quick glance at the Dark Lord who remained silent but I knew he was waiting for an answer. I looked more closely to see that he held a small smirk on his lips, and I could only assume that he seemed amused by the hostility Lucius and I held for each other.
"I am perfectly capable of doing my job. What the man didn't say, he thought. That was good enough for me."
An annoyed look appeared on the prick's face. "Thought?"
"One name: Bill Weasley," I stated. "The name kept appearing in his mind. Perhaps that's the next person to look for. Perhaps he's hiding the Order. Whatever it is, he's important."
I said the last part to everybody else in the room and there was a murmur in agreement, which only made Lucius look even angrier.
"Find the blood-traitor and interrogate him, Victoria. I want to know the location of their headquarters," commanded the Dark Lord.
With a cloud of black smoke, he disappeared from the middle of the room. As the room cleared up, I could see that Antonin and that bloody werewolf proceeding to leave the room, deep in conversation, which I could only guess was about finding Potter. I saw that Bellatrix had grabbed Narcissa to talk about Merlin knows what.
My eyes landed on Lucius to find that he was still glaring at me. I let out a heavy sigh and arrogantly began to walk towards him.
"It's odd he never asks you to do anything anymore, Lucius. Such a shame," I mocked.
"You shouldn't sound so confident, Miss Riesling. It's only a matter of time before you fail at your task. And then we'll see who gets the last laugh," he hissed.
I gave him my most malicious smirk and proceeded out the door.
My eyes were closed as I turned to my side in my bed, trying to calm myself down from today's whole ordeal. Surely, but slowly, everything was beginning to fall apart.
I pledged allegiance to the Dark Lord not fully understanding what consequences would happen. I wasn't expecting a full-fledged war, nor had I expected to harm anybody. What scared me the most, was the complete lack of remorse I felt when I murdered my first victim.
I shuddered and pulled the covers closer to me. The longer this war went on, the less human I felt. I couldn't remember the last time I was actually happy.
But I should be happy, right? We're winning. We have complete control of the ministry, and the pure-bloods are finally putting an end to the mockery of our kind. Our dreams were finally becoming a reality.
I frowned. I wasn't happy at all.
I was indifferent.
A hand snaked around my waist and I felt a huge weight shifting on the bed. His breathe sent shivers down my neck as he place one kiss at the line of my jaw. I turned around to meet his eyes, which were gazing intently into mine.
"He's just envious, you know."
My head perked up upon hearing this, and nudged him to say more. "It's no hidden secret the Dark Lord favours you above everybody else – even Bellatrix. My father is just envious at your position, because he was once where you are. Please don't take it personally."
His face softened as he mentioned his father's downfall and disgrace, and I smiled sadly knowing how much it hurt him to see his father like that.
"I won't kill him, I'll promise you that," I said lightly.
He looked up with a small smile and placed a long, gentle kiss upon my lips. I responded back with more aggression than usual. I felt empty and I needed to feel something. Anything.
Our lips eventually parted and he once again pierced his blue-grey eyes into my own.
"What do you want from me Victoria?" he whispered.
I stroked the back of his neck and whispered in his ear, "Nothing you can't give."
He crashed his lips against mine with such ferocity that I was vaguely aware I was lying on my back as his body hovered over mine.
"I'm yours for the taking," he whispered back.
He threw the covers over our bodies, as we remained in each others arms for the remainder of the black night, forgetting the worries and wonders of what our world had become.
A/N: Feedback is much appreciate :)