It's built,
up inside.
You're on,
the verge of exploding.
Self less,
enough to say.
I meant what I said,
and I'm not even sorry.
The Minister of Magic smiles at me and I want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to scream. He doesn't understand. He thinks my little stunt was nothing to be worried about. Fudge doesn't see me, he never has and he never will.
To him I am the Boy Who Lived. I can do no wrong. Crimes are accidents. Rule breaking is only harmless pre-teen misadventure. He'll never understand, but there is someone who does.
No, the Minister is right. The Ministry doesn't send children to Azkaban for blowing up their aunts. Blowing up, those are two funny words.
I wanted to blow her up. I wanted to watch her explode, feeling small bits of flesh and bone fly across my skin. I wonder if I would have flinched. I wonder if I would have felt anything at all but satisfaction.
The Minister doesn't understand, but there is one who does.
Magic is about power even though good wizards like Dumbledore would lead me to believe otherwise. Life is about power, so therefore magic must be as well.
With a word I could kill. With a thought I could destroy. With enough concentration I could blow up my enemies, bursting them like balloons.
I could feel the power course through me as I watched Aunt Marge expand. The feeling was intoxicating. I silenced her with magic. I controlled the situation with anger and stopped it with a deep breath and a mere thought.
It felt good. It felt right. In that moment I felt something within me slip farther into place. A small twinge of pain coursed through my scar as the connection became a little tighter and the darkness pulled a tiny bit harder then it had before.
Magic doesn't exist to make our lives easier. Magic doesn't exist to make our lives harder. Magic is a power that can create worlds as easily as it can destroy them.
There are not many who understand, but I know there is one who does.
November 20th, 8PM Sunday
Sofia, Bulgaria
Ambassador Hotel
The Ambassador Hotel in Sofia was decorated in tasteful shades of blue with two comfy single beds and a large, sparkling clean bathroom. It was definitely well worth the hundred and twenty a night. I sat next to Draco on one of the beds while Adrienne lay gagged and bound on the other. I watched the blonde-haired man silently as Khalida paced back and forth across the room.
"Do you think he'll ever wake up?" I asked as I gently cupped Draco's cheek in the palm of my hand.
"I don't know," Khalida replied bluntly. She stopped pacing for a moment and turned toward me. "If he doesn't wake up soon I fear he won't wake at all."
"Come back to me," I whispered softly into Draco's ear. His eyelids shifted slightly giving the only indication that he had heard me.
"We can't stay here," Khalida said worriedly as she began to pace once more, "I understand that the Dementors will protect you but things could get out of control if the Ministry or the Americans find us. And imagine what might happen if the Bulgarian Ministry finds out we're hiding out here."
"That's just what we need," I commented sarcastically, "one more government chasing us. If we play our cards right maybe we can start a world war instead of just a plain old boring one."
"You're not helping," Khalida warned as she plopped down on one of the small chairs on the other side of the room.
"And you are?"
"We have a real problem here," Khalida growled angrily.
"And don't you think I know that," I hissed, "Draco's half dead and my aunt is no help at all. What do you want me to do? I don't have any ideas. If I did do you think we'd be sitting here right now arguing?"
The only response from Khalida was a few grumbled words before she got up and stalked into the bathroom. I waited until the door closed and then let out a small sigh while pinching the bridge of my nose.
The whole situation seemed pretty hopeless. Without my aunt's help we would never be able to find Riddle Mansion and since the woman was completely insane it was going to be nearly impossible to extract the necessary information. Draco would be needed in order to apparate to the mansion. Even though Khalida knew how to apparate she wouldn't be able to apparate all three of us and attempting it one at a time would be too exhausting. We seemed to be completely stuck.
"I've got an idea," Khalida stated as she marched out of the bathroom with a smug look on her face.
"Okay?"
"What we need is someone trained in Legilimency," she explained as she motioned toward Adrienne, "Even if she is insane her memories should still be there. If we could break into her mind we could pull out the location of Riddle Mansion."
"Then how will we get there?" I asked.
"We'll figure that out when we get to that point," the vampire responded with a shrug.
"Okay, then where are we going to find someone who knows Legilimency?"
"Well, there is Severus…"
"As if he'd help us," I interrupted quickly, "I think he made it quite clear that he doesn't want anything to do with us."
"That's not what he meant and you know it," Khalida growled, "He has his own responsibilities you know. It's not as if he can just go traipsing across the countryside with us."
I mumbled my agreement and turned my attention toward my aunt's prone form. She appeared to be so peaceful when she was sleeping. If I looked close enough I was sure I was able to catch a glimpse of the woman that she used to be before Azkaban drove her mad. The more I watched her the more I was reminded of the beautiful, proud looking woman in the portrait with my mother, with long brown hair falling down over her shoulders and enchanting hazel eyes.
"It won't hurt her will it?" I asked hesitantly and Khalida quickly shook her head in reply.
"She's so out of it I doubt she'll even realize what we do until after it's already been done."
"So where do we find a wizard who knows Legilimency?" I asked curiously, "I doubt it's a very common skill."
"No, it's not very common," Khalida replied despondently, "Only a handful of wizards and witches are able to do it and even fewer vampires."
"A few vampires?" I asked hopefully.
"Yeah, but none that I'm acquainted well with," she explained, "and I doubt they would be too eager to help us."
"Did Lucius Malfoy know Legilimency?" Khalida thought for a few minutes before answering with a nod of her head.
"He died years ago though," she responded, "You know that." Khalida's eyes widened in surprise as a look of understanding crossed her face. "Unless he's found a way back," she added slowly.
"Perhaps he has," I commented as Khalida's eyes met my own.
"Then ask for his help," Khalida replied as her attention turned toward the man lying next to me in bed, "but you must make sure that Draco sees nothing and knows nothing."
"Of course not," I said with a nod as I ran my fingers through Draco's long blonde hair. "It's would break him if he knew," I added sadly and Khalida nodded in reply.
November 21st, Monday 8AM
Sofia, Bulgaria
Ambassador Hotel
Khalida and I sat silently and watched as an unmasked Lucius Malfoy sifted through my aunt's memories. Once in awhile Adrienne would twitch slightly and her eyes would begin to water as if she were about to cry. Lucius attempted to explain the memories as he extracted them but most were too jumbled up to be of much use.
"I see a long hallway," Lucius said in a detached tone. He shifted slightly in his chair in an attempt to move closer to the witch tied to the chair across from him.
"There's a young woman at the end of the hall," he continued, "She's waving to me but I only nod in return as I walk past. I'm wearing a long black cloak. A Death Eater's cloak…" Lucius shivered slightly and I wondered how much of his old life he was able to recall.
"I miss the woman for some reason but at the same time I hate her. I'm younger now and I'm playing with a young girl. She's sad and lonely so I hold her until she falls asleep. The memories…they're such a mess…I can't…I can't seem to hold onto any of them for long."
"Just keep searching," I urged, "The only thing we really need to know is the location of that mansion." Lucius nodded in understanding before focusing on the Dark Lord's daughter once more. After a few minutes he began to speak once again.
"It's dark and cold," he stated in an ominous tone, "Something is wrong. A man is yelling and he's very angry. The young woman is crying, I can hear her pleading with the angry man. I want to see what's going on but the door won't open. The angry man mumbles some spell, a spell I'm not familiar with and I can see a light under the door…a strange light, it's dark green, almost black."
"I'm outside now. There's a gigantic mansion off in the distance. It's very sunny and I have to squint in order to see it."
"That's it," I stated excitedly, "Can you see anything else?"
Lucius broke away from Adrienne's mind and shook his head to clear his thoughts. The room was completely silent as Khalida and I waited for his response. The expression on his face appeared haunted and confused.
"There were cliffs behind the mansion," Lucius explained warily, "I also made out a large forest off to the right."
"Did you see anything we could use as a landmark?" Khalida asked hopefully. Lucius appeared to shake slightly as he nodded in reply.
"O yes, I saw something," he stated ominously, "but I don't think you'll believe me."
"Just tell us," I growled in annoyance.
"Hogwarts," Lucius replied bluntly as my jaw fell open in shock and Khalida gasped in surprise, "I saw Hogwarts in the distance."
"But that's not…it can't be possible…can it?" I questioned in disbelief.
"It could if the Dark Lord used the Fidelius charm," Khalida commented.
"How far away?"
"From what I could see I would say only three or four miles," replied Lucius.
"Holy crap, that is close. How in the world did Dumbledore miss that?" I asked in disbelief.
"There's more," Lucius added, much to my dismay.
"Of course there is," I snorted sardonically.
"A man was flying toward the mansion," he explained hesitantly, "I think it was your father."
"Father?" a hoarse voice asked from behind me and time seemed to stop as everyone in the room turned to see Draco sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. His gaze flitted around the room before settling on Lucius once again.
"Father, is that you?"
Lucius stared at his son in confusion. It was apparent that he had no idea who Draco was. Perhaps Draco's voice stirred some long forgotten emotion inside him but the only evidence was a small twitch in the former Death Eater's left cheek.
"You're supposed to be dead," Draco stated assuredly. His body began to shake as he shook his head furiously. "This can't be happening, you are dead, and I saw Potter kill you."
No words were exchanged as Draco stumbled out of bed and stalked across the room to stand in front of his father. Draco's eyes appeared to be glazed over and his pupils were slightly dilated.
"I don't think he's completely awake yet," Khalida whispered softly, "It almost looks like he's sleepwalking." I nodded in reply.
"Draco," I called out, "Why don't you come back to bed? You need more rest."
It seemed as if Draco either didn't hear me or he was completely ignoring me. Before anyone could make another move he lunged at his father, knocking the older man off his chair onto the floor. Draco straddled Lucius and began to choke him, effectively crushing his esophagus as the man writhed and twitched.
"Die you bastard," Draco hissed as he lifted the man's head and slammed it into the floor below, "Potter killed you…I saw you die…You're dead…You're dead…"
Draco's voice trailed off into a long string of curses and mumbled statements of disbelief. Khalida and I looked on silently, both of us frozen in place by the shock of Draco's actions. A quiet groan from Adrienne brought me out of my stupor and I rushed over to the two men in an attempt to save Lucius but it was too late. The twelfth member of the Brotherhood was silent and unmoving.
"What in the hell," I exclaimed in disbelief as I turned toward Khalida, "How in the hell does someone die twice?"
"He was given his life back," Khalida explained as she helped Draco back to the small bed.
"So will he be able to come back again?"
"Only if Gilgamesh allows it," Khalida stated. Draco squirmed a little before letting out a loud sigh and slipping back into a deep sleep.
"What happened to him?" I asked worriedly.
"He broke," Khalida replied sadly as she pulled a thick blanket over Draco's sickly form. "He will wake once again," she added, "and he will be better off for what he has done."
"What do you mean?"
"Vengeance," Khalida explained, "He finally extracted his revenge after all these years. The guilt of what Gilgamesh had done for him almost ate him up inside but now he can be relieved to know that he was the one who destroyed his father for good."
"That's so sad," I responded with a sigh as I sat down next to Draco.
"Thoughts of revenge can be a horrible thing to live with," Khalida stated as she moved from the bed to stand in front of the window.
"So you think revenge is okay?" I asked incredulously.
"I think," Khalida said slowly, "that it is better then the alternative. When a person is filled with so much hatred it can only lead to destruction." I followed Khalida's gaze to where my aunt remained seated with Lucius lying dead on the floor in front of her feet.
"Even if their hatred is directed at themselves," Khalida added sadly, "it will lead them to ruin."
-
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry it took so long to update but a lot has been going on in my life and I've been quite busy. Thanks for all the reviews and comments.
NEXT CHAPTER: The search for Riddle Mansion continues and it may not be as hard to find as Jenny and Khalida think. More secrets revealed and fear falls over the wizarding world after the incident at Azkaban. But who was really responsible? Until next time...