Harry Potter and the Serpents Within
Summary: Harry is settling into living with the last two Marauders in Italy. But when something happens to Draco and his parents; the Potter's fears about the upcoming year at Hogwarts, and the dangers they might face there, become all too real.
Disclaimer: I make no monetary profit from this decent into the Potterverse. The warm fuzzies from reviews are all I need to sustain my muse … and sushi, I love me some sushi.
A/N: I'm on a bit of a roll churning these chapters out, here's hoping the trend continues. Also … WARNING: Very dark Chap. Torture and Gore within, don't like don't read.
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Chapter 2: Torturous Talks
The inhabitants of Potter Villa and the newly healed Malfoy family sat around the kitchen table, nursing hot cups of tea, though the adults' cups were spiked with a touch or three of Firewhiskey. Harry's pensieve sat in the centre of the table. After a fortifying sip from his cup, Lucius removed the happenings of the past few hours from his mind and deposited them within the basin. Harry, Sirius, and Remus each shared a glance filled with trepidation, and placed their fingers in the gaseous liquid.
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Lucius looked up from the paperwork on his desk when a house elf popped into his study.
"You's visitor is arrived, Master Malfoy, Sir." The creature squeaked, bowing low.
Lucius stood and made his way to the parlour, where the Floo access was, with some trepidation. The men he was to meet tonight were part of his old crowd, men who had blindly followed the same megalomaniac that he once had. He hoped to turn their minds from the dark lord as he too had been turned. As he entered his parlour he paused, those he'd asked to be here Vergil Crabbe, Galen Goyle, and Walden Macnair were in attendance. However, so too were the brother and sister pair Alecto and Amycus Carrow. He'd not wanted these two here, their fanaticism with the Dark Lord and his ways were second only to his insane sister-in-law Bellatrix, thank the gods that she was imprisoned for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, now that they were here there was no way to get them to leave without arousing suspicion. He'd have to push through with his plan and hope things went well.
Leading the group to his private sitting room, Lucius deftly poured tea from a gleaming silver set that had appeared hot and ready for he and his guests the second they'd stepped through the door. Settling himself in his customary wingback chair he began to speak.
"I have recently come to realize that our once illustrious leader has fallen," Lucius was interrupted.
"Well yeah, Lucius," Galen said dully, "that happened over ten years ago now."
Lucius sneered, "His downfall is not what I was referring to Goyle! He is not forever gone from this world. He was at Hogwarts just this past year, and he tried to kill my son."
Three of the five guests in the parlour sat visibly shocked, knowing that Narcissa was now incapable of bearing another child; to kill Draco would effectively end the Malfoy line. Those three, Lucius saw, were putting the pieces together as quickly as he had. If the dark lord would kill a pureblood, the son of one of his own devout followers, where would he draw the line? When would he stop killing? Who was to be left alive when all was said and done, one crazed wizard ruling over a barren wasteland?
"He also came very close to ending two other Ancient pureblood lines. His path has strayed from the one we once followed him down, and his mind has strayed to madness."
Lucius could see that his words were swaying the three he'd been addressing, but he knew that the Carrow's were not to be dissuaded from their lord. Amycus moved faster than he thought possible, striking out with her wand like a snake. Her spell sliced through Lucius' wand arm before he could react and rendered it useless. Her brother shot off three Obliviate's in rapid succession and nailed the three men each in the face, wiping the previous conversation from their minds. Before Lucius could fish his wand out of his pocket with his left hand he was stunned and the memory went black.
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The next memory started with a haze that indicated a concussion and the three (five) observers shared a gasp of horror. Lucius was tied to the chair he'd been sitting in, and in two chairs facing him sat his wife and son, also bound. Narcissa was bleeding steadily from numerous cuts on her arms and torso. Draco had blood all over his face and appeared to have a broken nose at least. The three men he'd had there for talks were nowhere to be found.
Alecto Carrow stepped into view from behind Lucius, where she'd been doing Merlin knew what, and waived three wands in his face. Lucius easily recognized his, Narcissa's, and Draco's foci.
"You aught not insult the Dark Lord, Lucius." Alecto whispered, "It ain't right. The Dark Lord is all powerful."
Amycus then stepped into view, brandishing his own wand and aiming directly at Draco.
Lucius went white, "Don't hurt my son. Amycus, please …"
"Ya here that, 'Lecto!" He interrupted, "High and Mighty Lucius Malfoy, saying 'please' to me!" Amycus cackled, "Oh, I won't hurt your boy anymore, Lucius. So long as you cooperate. And don't bother trying to call your house elves, they're … indisposed."
The two cackled before suddenly becoming serious.
"Where is it?" Alecto demanded, "We know the Dark Lord gave you something important. You ain't worthy to keep it anymore, so hand it over."
Lucius looked from one Carrow to the other, "I don't know what you're talking about." He replied.
Amycus' face twisted into a sneer, "You're lying, Ossa Frangere!" He incanted, shooting a bolt of bright red light from his wand. It struck Draco in the right leg and shattered his femur, causing the blond boy to scream in pain.
"NO!' Lucius shouted, "It's in a secure room, under this one." He relented.
"There's a good boy," Alecto chortled, peering at the floor. "How do we get in?"
"I," Lucius swallowed "I have to open it."
"Well then do so," Amycus ground out, "Unless you want me to break his other leg." He shifted his wand to point at Draco's left leg, causing to boy to strain feebly at his bonds.
"No! Stop hurting him!" Lucius begged, "I'll open it, but … you have to leave the room."
"Like hell!" Alecto spat, "Diffindo!" Her overpowered cutting curse shot through the fabric and wood of the dining chair Narcissa was tied to and sliced deeply into her back. She shrieked piercingly before slumping in her chair, unconscious.
"Cissa!" Lucius hollered, "Cissa, wake up! Cissa!"
Amycus backhanded the Malfoy scion across the face, "Quit you're bellyaching, you want her to live you open that room!" he shouted.
"I'm telling you," Lucius replied, "You have to leave the room!"
"And I'm telling you, it ain't happening! Ossa Frangere!" Draco tried unsuccessfully to twist out of the way of the spell before it crushed the bones in his left arm. The boy flung his head back in a blood curdling shriek, every limb shaking uncontrollably.
"STOP IT!" Lucius cried, "Please, stop it! I can't open the room when someone not of Malfoy blood is present. It's built into the wards, I can't help it!"
Alecto cocked her head to the side, the epitome of insanity, "Well, why didn't ya say so Luce? We'll be right outside the door, but were taking your boy with us, so don't be getting any smart ideas."
Amycus levitated the still shivering Malfoy heir through the doorway, intentionally catching his right arm on the jamb and laughing when he heard that bone snap. Draco could only groan weakly in pain, his body quickly going into shock.
Lucius grit his teeth in impotent rage, straining every muscle trying to snap the ties that bound him to what was once his favourite chair. He then quietly called for his elves, but none came. His hopes dashed and the steady tap … tap … tap of Narcissa's dripping blood thundering in his ears, he recited the pass phrase to open the drawing-room floor.
The two Carrows popped excitedly back into the room, leaving Draco in the hall. They eagerly descended into the room and started rooting through the dark artefacts hidden within. Lucius preyed that they be stupid enough to activate something and get themselves killed. After several minutes of increasingly frustrated noised from within, Amycus climbed back out and pointed his wand at Lucius,
"Where is it?" He snarled.
Lucius shook his head, "It's down there, on a bookshelf." He answered.
"It's a book?" Amycus exclaimed, surprised. "'Lecto, you're looking for a book." He called down to his sister.
"Bloody hell, there's got to be about a hundred books down here, which one is it?" She replied.
Amycus looked to Lucius, "Well? You wanna tell us which book it is?"
Lucius hesitated.
"Time's up!" Amycus crowed, "Incindio!"
Lucius howled as his right arm was set ablaze the ropes tying him to the chair remaining unaffected, obviously charmed impervious. Amycus let his arm burn for several seconds before extinguishing the flames.
"It's a small, leather bound journal," Lucius panted, "embossed with the name T. M. Riddle."
Amycus relayed that to his sister and circled Lucius as he waited for her to find it. IT was several minutes later when she let out a whoop of joy and clambered out of the room, the book in her hand. Amycus let out a bark of laughter and shot a cutting curse at the back of Lucius' head. The Blond man instinctively ducked and caught a grazing blow across the side of his head. Amycus growled and, forgoing his wand, punched Lucius hard in the jaw, smiling again when he heard the snap of it breaking.
"Oh, and Lucius," Alecto called as they prepared to leave, "Here's a little parting gift for you."
She turned and fired an explosion hex into the fireplace destroying it and disabling the Floo connected to it. Amycus grinned wickedly and, after dragging Draco back into the room, sealed the door closed.
"Lets see how long it takes you three to die in here. Blood loss for the missus, shock for your boy, and starvation for you unless your burn gets infected." He laughed.
The pair apparated out and the memory sped up, the minute hand of the mantle clock whirling around until it suddenly stopped, and a severely exhausted house elf appeared in the room.
"Master Lucius, Rudy is sorry. Rudy and the others … could not escape the spell … the bad people had them in. Rudy only … just now got freed." The elf snapped his fingers and the binds on the three Malfoy's vanished. Lucius slumped slightly but saw that Draco and Narcissa had shifted smoothly to the floor, Rudy had apparently magic-ed them from their chairs. Lucius could see it had cost him too, he doubted the little elf could manage much more magic.
"In Draco's room is a black trunk, bring that trunk here."
Rudy snapped his fingers again and the trunk appeared at Lucius' feet, just as Rudy sank to the floor, utterly spent. Snatching up the three wands the Carrows had left behind Lucius opened the trunk and gently levitated, first his wife, then his son down into the room within. Grateful that Draco had informed him of the address to Potter's trunk. He carefully sent his family through the green flames. The memory ended as he floo'd out.
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