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Chapter Twenty-Six: Dear Grandmother

The first day or so at home was not nearly as intolerable as I remember. Unfortunately, the Flocktons were gone off on vacation that year, not that Benjamin would wish to have much to do with me anyways. Our families were at the worst they had ever been with each other and he wasn't necessarily pleased that I was dating Oliver Wood. Whenever I tried to explain that he hadn't ever talked to me about Anna before he began dating her, he acted as though it truly were all my fault.

He was a drama for a different time.

I actually enjoyed the time spent with my mother. There were no other men in the house, no disturbances to make me think that she was up to something that she shouldn't have been. In fact, I felt as though things were….normal.

That was, until I discovered she was sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night to go to the cottage across the path.

It wasn't until several nights in that I heard the creaky gate slid open and I stealthily popped to the window to see just who was there. Whenever I saw that my mother was walking over the property line, I couldn't help but think that my Christmas vacation may be a little more complicated than what I was giving it credit for. Slowly, I remember grabbing my wand and tucking it into my nightshirt as I pulled open the window and slid out to follow far behind her.

Perhaps, it was not the most intelligent thing I had done…but I was stuck in the moment and wished to know what it was that my mother had been doing for all these years.

I found that she slid in through a basement window that barely peaked above the ground. Slowly and with a pounding heart, I followed after her and slithered through the window when I knew she would be far enough away and looking through the window to be sure the coast was clear. Just as I pulled through the window, I heard the front door fly open and then slam shut. Finding this strange, I felt my way through the dark until I could see what was going on.

It appeared as though some sort of meeting or ceremony was taking place.

I tucked myself back in the shadows, behind a shelf or two as I peered between the shelves. The room was filled with individuals dressed in dark robes, it took very little brainpower for me to deduce that they were Deatheaters. Then, there was my mother and Professor Quirrel, strangely enough, standing directly in the middle of the room. After several moments, my mother stepped aside as Professor Quirrel babbled helplessly about something or other.

Looking around, under the cloaks, I did recognize some of the faces. All it took was a little eavesdropping to realize that this was Draco Malfoy's parents. From what I heard, their names were Lucius and Narcissa. Both of them looked rather pale, but I certainly could tell the resemblance between them and Draco. Another name was Igor Karkaroff, whom everyone seemed to be very distraught with. Several minutes of arguing eventually led to a small, snake-like voice hissing from an unknown location. Quickly, I checked all around my feet to be sure that I wasn't missing something. My eyes widened as I saw Professor Quirrel unraveling his turban that always sat perched atop of his head.

"I know….I know….I know that I am dealing with the most unfaithful of my followers. For in all honesty, the most faithful are sitting in Azkaban prison, as we speak," The voice hissed, still I was curious as to where the voice was coming from.

It was at this moment that it took everything that was within me to keep from screaming as Professor Quirrel turned his head to reveal the face on the back of his head. I covered my mouth and simply stared at the obscure sight.

"My lord, please," Lucius Malfoy took a step forward, but the face seemed to be very agitated with this.

It was at this moment that I realized just who this face must have been.

At that moment, I wished to turn and exit and never come back. For years, I had suspected my mother of being involved with such, but to see it forming in front of my very eyes was too much for me to bear.

"Words are meaningless from you, Lucius," The Dark Lord shot back at him. " I am here to discuss the future and see if any of you truly are worthy of my forgiveness and serving me in the future for me quest to rebirth into a physical body rather than being hosted by Quirinius Quirrel."

I couldn't pull myself to leave just yet.

"This puny body that I am currently living in is my access into Hogwarts, as some of you already know. Within the walls of Hogwarts lay the Sorceror's Stone, a stone which can provide me with the Elixir of Life, a drink that not only will restore me to a physical body, but also…provide me with eternal life," He said softly, I was still in awe of how his face was moving and how he was living a parasite life off of Professor Quirrel.

I should have left.

But I stayed.

There was some odd desire within me to stay and listen to what he had to say.

At the mention of eternal life, there was a small gasp in the crowd. The Dark Lord continued to lecture over how he planned on getting through to where the Stone was hidden. It supposedly wasn't that difficult seeing as he "was" a staff at Hogwarts. No one dared say a word as the Dark Lord spoke. Even my mother, stood there in awe of him. It was when he finished his spiel that I found it may be time for me to exit.

Just as I was turning to leave, I heard the Dark Lord say something else.

"I feel another presence in this room. It appears as though we have an intruder," He spoke smoothly.

My heart rate nearly shot through the ceiling as I slowly turned to face the room of Deatheaters whose eyes were now glued in my direction. I swallowed hard.

"Please, show yourself to us," He nearly growled.

Slowly, I took a deep breath in. How hard would it have been to simply run? I knew, however, that if this truly were He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, I would stand no chance in running away. It was for this reason that I took in a deep breath, and walked into the light.

I heard my mother gasp," Lana!"

There was also a murmur that ran through the small crowd as I looked into the eyes of the Dark Lord, whose lips turned upward into a smile.

"I've been waiting for this day to arrive," He said with a smirk on his face. "Come closer, Miss Stockholm."

I dared not argue.

"Lana, why are you-" My mother gasped as the Dark Lord's eyes shot in her direction.

"DO NOT SPEAK TO HER!" He roared before turning his glance back to me.

"How are you, Lana?" He asked cordially, putting a small smile back on his face.

I wondered if this were some sort of a trick question or if he were just trying to get inside of my head. Nevertheless, I was not one to challenge the Dark Lord.

"I'm very well. And yourself?" I asked, trying to make for casual conversation.

He smiled wider," I'm just wonderful. Thank you for asking, but dear Lana, you do realize the predicament I am in, yes?"

A chill ran down my spine at his calling me "dear Lana". Fighting back the shaking, I nodded my head and said meekly," Of course."

"My dear, your time will come one day when I am in no longer need of your mother. Trust me, your time is sooner than you think. For now, I ask you to return to Hogwarts and learn as much as you can while you still have the opportunity. Pay extra close attention to the lad named Harry Potter. I want to save you for the bigger tasks that will follow," He said all of this in a very slow, dragging voice, hanging on to every word.

I couldn't have been more confused by what he had said. I had no intentions of serving the Dark Lord and if he thought that I did…then I would be sure to leave the country as soon as possible. It wasn't until I remembered the words of my father before that I started to put two and two together. He told me about some sort of burden that grandmother left with mother. Strangely enough, it sounded as though Dark Lord was alluding to this when he mentioned my mother's time being done.

"I'm sorry, but-" I still managed to say these words to question precisely what he meant.

"She doesn't know, my lord," My mother said quietly from the corner.

To hear my mother refer to him in such reverence was…irking to say the least.

His head moved to look straight at my mother. She was clearly cowering in the corner, but his voice was filled with anger and a bit of sarcasm.

"Oh, she doesn't know? Pity, really. I suppose it is always better to hear the truth from your beloved family, but seeing as they've so generously lied to you all of your life…would you like to know the truth, Lana?" He asked me, looking straight at me.

There was some sort of a grumbling from upstairs. I shot my eyes over to my mother, who looked frantic. Quickly, she spoke once more," My lord, please, we've only got so much-"

"Silence, Mary!" He shouted before looking back to me. "Lana, I haven't much time, but let me leave you with this. Your grandmother was a schoolmate of mine. A lovely girl, really. She had long, beautiful auburn hair and bright blue eyes. If there were ever a girl that I was attracted to, it was your grandmother.

"There was a barrier between us, however, seeing as she was from Gryffindor and I was from Slytherin. That didn't stop us from seeing each other, though. Our relationship was socially taboo, but we hardly cared, you see. To make an extremely long story short, I came to power just years after leaving Hogwarts and your grandmother and I were rather close still. Believe it or not, when I attained power, there were students from Hogwarts from all the houses that were leaving everything they knew to follow me. Your dear grandmother was one of them. She didn't just want to revolutionize the wizarding word with what I had to offer, but she wanted to be at the frontlines. She wanted every bit of it.

"Therefore, I made her an offer that she couldn't resist. She not only gave every bit of herself to my cause, but also…swore that every generation of her family that followed her…would give their service to me until death only to be followed by their offspring. Unlike the conniving individuals standing in this room, she showed true dedication. Dedication that eventually killed her. Let me continue to say that to this day, there has been no one….no one like your grandmother," He nearly whispered the last part.

I was simply in awe of all that he had just told me. I stood there, numb for seemingly hours as there was a louder pounding from upstairs. The Dark Lord looked at me before turning to the rest of his Deatheaters.

"I believe now is the time for you all to depart. Please, remember what I have said and realize the consequences of disobedience," He said coolly to the rest of the group before turning back to me.

"I truly do look forward to your days in my ranks, Lana," He nearly hissed in my ear before barking orders at Professor Quirrel to cover himself and get out of there.

As they disappeared from the room, I was feeling rather chilled, shocked, and most of angered. My mother seemed to be sobbing and as the pounding noise from above grew louder, I debated leaving her there. I was so infuriated with her.

Why had she not told me my fate before?

Why had she not told me that I was bound to a past decision that wasn't even my own to make?

Why had she not told me that my grandmother was a selfish woman who clearly only thought for herself?

A/N: Originally, this chapter was supposed to be much longer, but you get a taste of the drama starting :D Hope you enjoyed! Please, review!