A/N: I'm sorry this took so long!! Also, I really do enjoy reading what you all have to say about each chapter, so I promise I'll respond to all reviews for this chapter (I figured you'd rather me update sooner rather than spend more time replying and having a later update). Feel free to send a Cruciatus Curse my way if I'm ever this late again ;)
"So…are you sure you don't know who did it?"
"No…that's the strangest thing…I mean, nobody wakes up covered in blood for no apparent reason, right?"
Laika grimaced and patted Lily on the shoulder. "I suppose not. But you're fine now, at least."
Lily nodded and smiled cheerfully as she, Laika, and Narcissa entered the Great Hall together. It was a lovely morning, judging from the sparkling blue sky depicted on the enchanted ceiling above them. Severus waved excitedly to Lily as they walked past the Gryffindor table, making her blush as her friends laughed at him.
Lily could hardly believe it was only three days ago that she woke up to find her neck oozing blood everywhere. It had been a rather horrifying experience, and she was glad it was over. Not only did she feel better physically, but mentally as well. She was happier than ever, and Severus was talking to her again. Life was good.
Just as she reached over for some toast, she jumped and knocked over her orange juice at the sound of a man's low voice coming from behind her. Shockingly, it was Professor Dumbledore. But of all people, why was he here? Talking to them?
Narcissa was staring quizzically as well, but apparently Dumbledore had come over to speak with Laika…alone. Ignoring the two girls' stares on either side of Laika, he whispered something in her ear and silently beckoned her to come with him. Shrugging to her friends, Laika got up and followed him, not bothering to hide the irritated look on her face. Dumbledore glanced back at Narcissa and Lily, smiling grimly and shaking his head, as though warning them not to ask their friends any questions regarding this little meeting. Odd…
This did not go unnoticed by the rest of the houses: everyone suddenly fell silent and strained their ears for snippets of conversation. What a lot of eavesdroppers. After all, it was quite unusual for the headmaster to speak with students privately unless they were in huge trouble. And, given the high reputation of the Malfoy family name, Laika's possible punishment would make for some juicy gossip.
Two minutes later, there was a terrible wail. It sounded more like a wounded animal than a girl, and it was more bone chilling than anything they had heard before…including those noises that occasionally erupted from the girls' bathroom on the first floor.
Automatically recognizing it as Laika's scream (and the rather loud crying that followed), Lily and Narcissa shot worried looks at each other. What could possibly have upset their friend so much?
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall quickly running towards the corridor through which Dumbledore had exited with Laika. If two professors plus the headmaster had to get involved, this was not good news.
The Slytherin table was quiet for a long time, while the other three tables had taken to excitedly gossiping amongst themselves about what had happened. Slytherins didn't exactly have a respectable standing at Hogwarts, and whenever something went wrong with a member in the house, other houses quickly assumed the worst. Lily overheard bits and pieces from the Hufflepuff table; some of the younger kids were betting on whether or not Laika had been expelled for using Dark Magic. Lily knew this couldn't possibly be the case, though. They were only first years; surely Laika didn't know anything as advanced as Dark Magic yet?
Well, Sev does, Lily remembered with a jolt. Maybe it was Dark Magic then? She didn't know, but she figured it would be best to wait a while before asking Laika. It had been over ten minutes since Dumbledore escorted her away, and her screams were still echoing throughout the halls…
xXxXxXxXx
A week later, the young witches and wizards were on the Hogwarts Express, heading home for the summer. Lily could hardly believe that an entire school year had already gone by, though perhaps it felt shorter due to the large gaps in her memory. She remembered the material, but for some reason she couldn't remember the lessons themselves. It was almost as though her newfound knowledge was just inserted into her head and she never consciously learned any of it.
"You know why she blames Dumbledore, don't you?"
Lily sighed exasperatedly. "Oh Sev, not this again!"
Severus bristled. "But I'm serious—"
"No I'm 'serious,'" Sirius cut in, roaring with laughter at his own stupid joke until he noticed Lily scowling at him. It had been Severus' idea to let these three dunderheads— well, Lupin not so much— sit in their compartment, and Lily wasn't the least bit pleased by this. Narcissa had rejected her invitation to join their compartment as soon as she found out that Sirius was in there, and instead went to join Lucius and his friends. Lily had wanted to go with her, but she didn't want to leave Severus either. Thus, she was forced to remain behind and suffer through Potter and Black's idiotic jokes and irritating interruptions.
Shooting a death glare towards the two troublemakers across from her, Lily continued: "Sev, you should really be more sensitive. I mean," she dropped her voice to a low whisper, "she lost both of her parents. Can you even begin to imagine what that must be like?"
Severus considered this for a moment. "Honestly, I'd be happy to lose him—"
"That's not the point," Lily snapped. "Laika was close to her parents, okay? Quit trying to make it seem like it's her fault."
"But—"
"Severus!"
Severus backed off at Lily's usage of his full name, something she did only when she was really annoyed with him. She could be so frustrating sometimes. While it was indeed a tragic thing to lose one's parents, why couldn't Lily see that Malfoy was using Dumbledore as a scapegoat?
Severus was very hesitant to believe Lucius Malfoy's story— retold to him by Lily— that the Ministry had sent the Aurors to murder the elder Malfoys. Yes, the Ministry definitely had a track record of past corruption, but the idea that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was set on weeding out the 'good' Ministry workers— those who apparently were rebelling against the wrongful deeds that the Ministry was trying to hush up— seemed highly unlikely.
Quite frankly, he regarded anything the Malfoys told Lily with great suspicion, which drove Lily crazy. She was naturally inclined to trust everyone; a flaw Severus knew she may one day regret. As such, she had believed every word Lucius had told her, and she understood wholeheartedly when he explained that Laika did not wish to talk about this devastating family tragedy. Laika immediately left Hogwarts upon hearing this awful news, though she did manage to say a quick goodbye for her friends. When Lily offered her comforting words, Laika brushed them off and darkly muttered how Dumbledore would get what he deserved later on. Lily was puzzled by this, but she inwardly tied what Lucius said to this in order to convince herself that both were telling her the truth. Severus knew she was deceiving herself, but whenever he tried to get her to listen to logic, she snapped at him to feel more sympathetic for the Malfoys. Her ears simply refused to listen to any possibilities that someone might be lying to her, even if Severus' arguments that Dumbledore wasn't connected to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in any way were legitimate.
What was equally mystifying was the fact that they never did hear what became of the locket. Remembering the conversation he and James had overheard between the Malfoys, Severus told Lily it belonged to them. Contrary to what he was expecting her to say, Lily told him she hoped they got it back safely, completely oblivious to the possibility that they nearly killed her with it.
It must have been Severus' unique ability to put two and two together that got him wondering if the locket, Lily's mental wreckage and neck injury, and Black's suspension were all connected. After all, Lucius had mentioned something about 'Bella' helping his younger sister get the locket…why, it really did make sense when he though of it this way! If only Lily would quit trying to stand up for her friends' inner goodness all the time…
xXxXxXxXx
"You didn't write us much, Lily dear," Mrs. Evans said once they were in the car half an hour after leaving King's Cross. The Evans had so graciously offered to drive Severus home; Lily inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that Petunia hadn't come along, otherwise, she would have made Sev ride in the trunk.
Lily sighed. "Mum, Petunia hates owls…I'll write more next year though…I promise."
"So…did you two enjoy your year at Hogwarts?" Mr. Evans asked, his eyes watching them carefully from the rear-view mirror. Lily knew he was hoping to see her and Sev shooting multicoloured spells from their wands and pulling rabbits out of top hats, but he was going to be sorely disappointed.
Knowing that Severus was often too embarrassed to talk around people he didn't know very well, Lily answered for the both of them: "It was great. Well…we're not in the same houses, but—"
"Houses?" Mrs. Evans inquired, still knowing very little about the world her youngest daughter was now a part of.
"Yes…we're Sorted into one of four houses: there's Slytherin— that's me— Gryffindor— that's Sev— and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."
"So you're not all together?" Mr. Evans cut in, frowning slightly. "Isn't that a bit like segregation?"
Lily frowned as well. "Well, I dunno…but anyways, we made lots of new friends and the teachers are pretty good, but the Defense teacher left to choreograph the dances for the mascots of the Irish Quidditch team…she was a bit strange, so I wasn't really sad to see her go, to be honest…but yeah, it was a great year."
Not to mention you nearly killing James, you were possessed by a cursed necklace for a few months, and your friend's parents being murdered, Severus added silently.
"So can I expect you to start cleaning the house for me?" Mrs. Evans joked, though Lily certainly didn't take it as one.
"Oh no, Mum," Lily replied seriously. "We're banned from practicing any magic over the summer, though we do have lots of reading to do and essays to write. Unlike Potter and Black, Sev and I actually paid attention this year, so it shouldn't be too difficult."
Mr. Evans chuckled. "Well it sounds like you've been working hard."
Lily beamed. "Very much so. Sev is the best though. He was named the best Potions and Defense student in our year."
Severus' cheeks turned slightly pink under Lily's praise; her parents looked extremely impressed, even though they had little to no idea what Potions and Defense were anyways. "I'm not that good," he mumbled modestly, though he managed a small smile as Lily gave him a playful shove.
"Well!" Mrs. Evans said excitedly. "Why don't you stay for dinner, Severus? To celebrate the completion of your first year?"
Severus' eyes widened. "Oh…erm, that'd be nice…thank you…"
He shot Lily a nervous glance, and she knew exactly what he was thinking: how would Petunia react to this?
Lily hated living in constant fear of her sister's opinions, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to please everyone, and she thought quite highly of her sister, so Petunia's opinions could not be easily ignored. Still, Severus' friendship was more important— something she vowed to never relinquish for as long as she lived— so she would have to weather the storm when it came.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to the Evans' cosy home at the top of the hill, overlooking Spinner's End down below. The front yard was covered in hundreds of different flowers— petunias and lilies being the greatest in number, of course.
Severus figured this would always feel more like home to him than Spinner's End ever could; while his home was dark and depressing, this place was warm and welcoming. Well, not quite so welcoming when a certain teenage girl's shocked face poked out from the front door. Unsurprisingly, her glare instantly settled on Severus. He wanted to glare right back at her horsey face, but instead settled for a mild sneer; after all, he was a guest and had to act somewhat decently towards that horrible girl.
"Hi Tuney!" Lily exclaimed, running towards her sister to give her a hug, but falling short as Petunia held up a hand to stop her.
"Please do not calm me that," Petunia snapped airily, sounding more pompous than usual. Also, for some reason, she was wearing her favourite lavender dress…the one she usually set aside for special occasions. Her hair was meticulously braided and if it weren't for the disgusted expression on her face, she might have looked quite lovely. "What is he doing here?"
"He's staying for dinner," Lily replied defiantly. "Mum and Dad invited him."
"NO!" Petunia screeched, looking between Severus and Lily as though this was some kind of sick joke. The two simply stared back at her; after a while, she realized this was really true and looked back up at her parents in desperation.
"Can't he come some other night?" Petunia pleaded, on the verge of tears. Lily and Severus were puzzled, though they didn't say anything. Lily had seen her sister lose control of her emotions before, but never had she looked so distraught over something so silly. Severus was only staying for dinner, for Merlin's sake…they weren't adopting him or anything crazy like that!
Mrs. Evans sighed exasperatedly. "Petunia, it's only fair if Lily gets to have a friend over as well…"
"But tonight?!" Petunia shrieked. "Why tonight?!"
"Because we invited him, therefore it would be nice if you could act your age and be kind to our guest," Mr. Evans said firmly. Petunia looked stricken; for one moment, it seemed as though she was going to lash out; instead, she burst into tears and ran inside the house, slamming the door behind her.
"What's wrong with her?" Lily asked her mother, who rolled her eyes and smiled sadly.
"Your sister's new boyfriend will also be joining us…but that is no excuse for the way she is treating you, Severus."
Lily and Severus darted furtive glances of surprise at each other. Petunia Evans…had a boyfriend? She was fourteen, but Lily figured her nasty temperament would always kill all her chances at dating the opposite sex. No wonder she was horrified to see Severus. Alone, Lily wasn't much of a threat to the peaceful Muggle atmosphere in the Evans' home. With another 'freak,' however, she would be more inclined to talk about magic and Hogwarts. Having to admit that her sister was a witch in front of her boyfriend would undoubtedly be a nightmare for Petunia…
"What's his name?" Lily asked curiously as they began walking inside.
"Daniel Granger."
xXxXxXxXx
There they were. The bodies of Abraxas and Lilu Malfoy, each in a separate casket, staring up at the world with their lifeless, blank expressions, unable to feel the warmth of the sunlight that glowed down upon their pale faces.
Friends, family, and colleagues had come from all over to witness this sad day for the Malfoy family. Somehow, none of the people looked particularly devastated by this loss; instead, it seemed as though they only came to pay their respects to the Malfoys. Otherwise, it was pretty clear that the majority of attendees would have skipped out on this over extravagant funeral ceremony. The only truly mournful person in the crowd was Laika. Being just twelve years old, she had taken their deaths particularly hard; it didn't help that neither she nor her brother knew the real reason why or how they had died.
Bellatrix Black was present. Of course she felt absolutely no remorse for her role in this, but had shown up to cover up her tracks nonetheless. Looking down at their dead faces, she felt a horrendously wicked twinge of joy bursting from her chest. Here were the keys to her future. She did not view them as human beings, but as integral keys that would unlock her destiny as one of the greatest supporters the Dark Lord has ever known. All she had to do was prove herself, and their unmoving corpses were solid proof that Dark Lord had followed her advice. She, a sixteen year old girl, had helped the Dark Lord to snuff out two of his most traitorous servants. It was a wondrous feeling.
In fact, the more she dwelled upon her fascination with death, the more enthralled she became. She could not help but admire the Dark Lord's handiwork. Not a scratch or burn mark in sight. Not one tiniest sign of physical damage anywhere; if it weren't for the lack of pulse— Bellatrix felt no shame in feeling around for one on each of the corpses— and absence of breathing, she almost would have mistaken them to be asleep.
Bellatrix had always mocked those who feared death. Not one thought of how it would feel to actually experience death ever went through her mind, but she quite enjoyed imaging herself by the Dark Lord's side, mastering the precise and beautiful art of the Avada Kedavra.
"Hello Bellatrix," Lucius formally greeted her an hour or so after the ceremony had ended.
She nodded stiffly in return, feeling agitated that he had interrupted her thoughts. Now that the Malfoys were out of the way, it was up to her to weave her way into the ranks of the Death Eaters. Without them to around to distract the Dark Lord and her new reputation as a valuable spy, Bellatrix knew that she was well on her way to achieving more beyond her wildest dreams.
The two silently stared out at the courtyard for quite some time, until the sun had finally set and the last of the stragglers had departed. Laika was off by herself somewhere, probably still crying her brains out, and Narcissa was waiting quietly for Bellatrix to come home with her. Lucius wished to speak with her first, however…
"It appears that your sister is growing bored of our hospitality, so I will make this quick," Lucius said, grabbing Bellatrix's left hand as she tried to run past him. She had been waiting a long time for Lucius to go away so she could escape, but after a while, it was apparent that she would have to make the first move. Behind them, Narcissa flushed a furious shade of pink at Lucius' harsh words, but didn't move from her chair near the fire.
Bellatrix froze and looked down to where Lucius was gripping her arm. Was it on purpose or by mere coincidence that he had grabbed her left arm?
His calm gray eyes met her black ones for a moment; she didn't know what he was going to do or say, but a queasy feeling rumbled somewhere deep within her black heart. Did he know something he shouldn't…?
He got what he deserved, Bellatrix thought unsympathetically. I have no reason to fear now…
Slowly, his gentle hands rolled up the sleeve of her midnight-black dress, searching for any form of imprint on her ghastly pale arm. His heart beat quickly as he reached the forearm; he was so certain…she must have been branded, there was no possible way she couldn't have been…
But her arm was free of any mark. He didn't understand. If what he had heard was true, then surely…
"Looking for something?" Bellatrix asked coldly, pulling her arm out of his grasp.
"I've heard rumours," he whispered, not taking his eyes off her for one second. "The rumours, dear Bella…I'd like to confirm them for myself."
"Oh, did you find anything?" Bellatrix's tone was sardonic, though the slightly hysterical edge would have terrified even a brave Gryffindor.
Lucius paused. This was clearly not working, so he tried another tactic: "You know I did not love my parents, Bellatrix…my only wish is to know what killed them and I will prod no further."
Bellatrix laughed cruelly. "Bargaining, are we Lucius? Isn't that a little low, even for you?"
Lucius scowled. "I know it was you, Bella…you cannot deny truth. I can see Death lurking behind your eyes."
Bellatrix was rather delighted by this prospect, though she easily kept this rush of pride hidden from Lucius. "Believe what you want, Lucius. I could hardly care less of what you think of me."
If Bellatrix had been less adept at verbal manipulations such as this, and Lucius had pondered this statement a while longer, he would have seen her lack of denial as a solid confession for aiding in the murders of his parents. However, as it was, Bellatrix had come out on top, and without another word, she walked into the green flames with her sister, quietly contemplating how much longer it would be before the fateful day when she had the Dark Mark burned into her skin…
A/N: As far as I can tell from my summary plans, this is the last we'll see of Bellatrix for a while. Next chapter: mostly summer fun (taking a very short break from all the drama). I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and don't hesitate to leave any comments you might have ;)