Chapter 8. Single Combat.
He walked into this small, seemingly long-vacant house with a feeling of triumph the likes of which he'd never felt before. He saw Xenia Verdi, now Potter (stupid girl), believing for a moment that he would be able to help his sister, that this whole scheme by the unknown benefactor would definitely end well.
And then a wand sliced through the air and Fritz was immobilized. Eyes full of confusion, he watched Xenia lower her wand, looking at him curiously. Damn that idiot for giving her back her wand!
"So Lily was right, after all," Verdi said calmly (Fritz refused to use her new name), "you are involved in this like nobody else."
The chap wanted to utter a retort, but couldn't. The girl walked over to him and took the wand out of his hand. Coming in, he was not at all wary of his captive, and did not hold the wand firmly in his grip. As if he could have anticipated that idiot returning her wand to her!
Fritz tried to focus on turning the situation in his favour. Everything was going so well… He almost had the healer in his grasp, he almost brought the brilliant plan to fruition. Fritz rarely recalled that Xenia ended up in his power not through his actions, but as a gift from the unknown benefactor, who had offered to help.
Who this man was and why he hated Malfoy, Zabini neither knew nor wanted to know. He only understood that his ally was smart and careful; otherwise, how would he have managed to kidnap the ginger Potter and Malfoy's cousin? The man also predicted off the top of his head that Malfoy would show up at the Zabini's mansion. He did that, but failed to find anything.
His secret friend was clever, indeed. Clever and reticent, for even now, being in some strange house that smelled of smoke and soot, Fritz had no idea who this helper was. Two house elves did everything, from delivering letters to bringing Fritz here, to this strange place.
But why would he have given her the wand?!
"I shall remove the spell now, and we will leave here together," Xenia said quietly, pointing her weapon at the door through which Fritz had just entered. "Don't worry, I won't harm you; I just want to get out of here…"
She looked back and suddenly froze:
"Lily…"
She was clearly contemplating an attempt to get her friend out as well. So, the ginger Potter is here somewhere as well. Also with a wand?!
"Well-well-well," came a mocking voice from behind Fritz, who realized with relief that it belonged to the mastermind of all this. Well, he'd given her the wand, let him sort it out. "It was a good thing that I decided to stick around and make sure that the handover went smoothly."
Xenia was looking behind Fritz's back, but he wasn't able to turn and see the man who had put together this plan of Malfoy paying his dues.
"Don't be silly, Xenia, lower your wand and give it to Mr. Zabini," said the man. Fritz fumed silently at his not being in a hurry to remove the spell. Shouldn't be too hard, should it?! "Don't force me to hurt you; I would honestly prefer to avoid it."
"So, I am merely a gift to Mr. Zabini here?" the girl inquired calmly, putting down her wand. The familiar house elf hurried over: he snatched the weapon out of Xenia's slender hand and turned away from her, clearly waiting for instructions.
"You are not a gift, of course not," the man behind Fritz laughed rather unpleasantly. "This is just a proper pay back for what a member of your family did to Mr. Zabini's family. And now we shall grant him control of his faculties, and you, Xenia will behave, because otherwise, I fear he will not be as kind to you as I have been."
Zabini realized with relief that the spell was now broken: he lunged for the house elf and grabbed both his and Xenia's wand from him.
"Easy, Mr. Zabini, it wouldn't do to break the fingers of my worker elves: they are very rare these days."
Fritz turned toward the man, careful to keep Malfoy's cousin in his sights as well, but did not see anything. Only the door opened and shut noiselessly. Fine, every man was entitled to his little quirks, Fritz thought as he pointed Xenia's wand at the door:
"And don't do anything stupid."
The girl nodded, casting the last glance at the house elf who remained in the room, and slowly headed for the exit.
The sun was rising, its pale-yellow rays illuminating the early autumn forest, the mountains beyond and the cottage with a sloped roof they just exited. All around them was silent, even birds did not chirp. Fritz was not curious as to their whereabouts; he was in a hurry to get to the underground tunnels on his family estate, to be absolutely sure of his success.
To please Priscilla with his good news.
They Apparated – Zabini was gripping both Xenia's cold hands in his. As soon as they found themselves in a small grove that concealed the entrance to the tunnel, Fritz pointed both wands at Xenia and smiled, in his opinion, quite pleasantly:
"Welcome to our home, Verdi."
She shrugged her shoulders, showing her full cooperation with the new twist in her fate, and soon they were walking down the dark and damp tunnel, where each step produced a muted echo, and repulsive crumbs of wet earth fell into their collars.
They exited the tunnel, went up a few steps, and soon crossed a short unlit corridor. Everyone in the house was still asleep. Fritz smiled, opening a recently greased door to the dungeons concealed beneath the house since times long past, that were once a favourite diversion of Scorpius Malfoy's on his visits here. Not a problem, since he's been here already and searched the place.
Five minutes later, Fritz pushed Xenia into a dark room, locked the door and hurried upstairs. Now everything would be well. Now Priscilla would see how much he loves her. He would help her; her and their brother.
As he approached his sister's sun-lit room, he heard the sounds he dreaded; the sounds he hated; and yet worshipped – because it was Priscilla. The moans his sister uttered occasionally broke into strange sort of scream. For a moment, there was silence (he knew that she was biting the pillow in an attempt to prevent anyone overhearing her suffering), and then the moans resumed.
Fritz froze by the door, knowing how it enraged Priscilla for someone to enter the room when she was in this condition. But this would soon change! He would tell her everything, and she would be easier!
He opened the door with a shaking hand and entered the room that was slowly filling with the light of the rising sun. She never closed the curtains, because darkness was deadly to her. However, the sunlight spell that was placed on her room must have weakened toward the morning and the darkness found its way inside.
Fritz stood still, looking at the bed where, curled into a ball, was sat his sister. This was only the second time he saw her this way and, like the first time, his heart filled with fear and loathing.
She raised her head and looked at him. Yet, these were not her eyes: they were now big, round and amber in colour, hardly blinking. The nose sharpened and looked very hard, the lips pulled upward, almost up to it. His sister appeared almost half her usual height and instead of her arms hugging the knees, it was two large wings, covered with greyish-white feathers. Her naked legs were also partially covered with feathers, yet they were still clearly human legs.
Fritz was silent, and so was his sister. He tightened his fists until they hurt, hating the darkness that turned his sister into a monster, and the man who was the cause of all this.
He put Priscilla in Azkaban. He forced her to think incessantly of escaping that horrible place. He forced her to study to become an animagus, in order to repeat the feat of the animagus called Sirius Black. He and he alone was responsible for her failure!
His sister was still staring at him, unblinkingly. Then she opened her mouth, wanting to shout something at him but instead, the irate hooting of an owl came out.
He entered the quite house and slowly shut the door. Through the closed curtains he could see the rising sun. He walked into the room and used his wand to light the fireplace. Then he sat down and leaned back onto the cushions, rubbing his tired face. How hard it is – not to be yourself.
He relaxed, letting his face take its true form, erasing the alien features. For a moment, as always, he had the desire to stand before the mirror and change again. To change as she had wanted. To change and walk into the bedroom, waking her. To at least once see the real smile on her face; the real happiness.
Yet he continued to sit, smiling at the sunrise. Because now it did not matter. She did not remember that happiness; she would not remember that face, even if he dared to put on the mask she has dreamed of for so long. She would not know, because he took care of it. And he would do it again, with someone else, this time…
He sat, relaxing, staring at the fire dancing in the fireplace, but thinking not of gold, but of silver that he despised, hated… And once he worshipped it, he craved silver.
Once again, he remembered school. Remembered to harden his heart even more. Because the past was what gave him the strength to do what he was doing now.
You ignored me for years, while I dreamed of being your friend. A better friend than that despised Gryffindor. Better, more devoted. And what did you do? You hardly noticed me, except to laugh at me, to joke at my expense. I took in all your gestures, your body language, for you were one of a kind. I wanted to be your friend, but you made me your foe. A quiet, unnoticeable one, unworthy of attention.
And then I began to fear you. And to hate you, when you took her from me. I knew that, even rejected and tainted by you as she was, she was still thinking of you, dreaming of you; even though she tried to hide it behind cold smiles. And you know what? I humbled myself. I abandoned all hope of making her mine; I gave her to you to be your toy.
I gave up; I forgot about her and about you. Because another entered my life; she, my wife. I was madly happy; I was jumping for joy, for she was mine and mine alone! She'd never known you ; you could never have her. She was mine.
I loved her as no one else in the world. From the moment I first laid eyes on her. From the first instant. I was afraid to go to her and strike a conversation, but I got lucky. For the first and only time in my life, as I then thought. Our parents knew each other. This was how my happiness began, unbeknownst to you. I was with her, I talked to her, I held her hand. I kissed her; possessed her…
We joked and played; I waited on her hand and foot. And when she said that she would want me to change a little bit, I happily agreed. For her, I did the impossible, because I wanted to be the way she wanted me to look. I learned to change my appearance. And once I did her bidding, my life was destroyed.
This was when I suddenly realized everything. And I learned everything, because I wanted to know. And my happiness faded. And I knew then that she was not mine after all. Yours. Still yours!
I turned her life into a fairy tale, and just as easily shattered the illusion. And then I glued it back together again, but without the unneeded pieces. I believed that now she would be mine. And she is.
But me, I can't forget. I can't forgive. Not you. And so, you'll pay me back, Scorpius Malfoy. Many years ago you didn't deem me worthy of your friendship. Now I shall make you a worthy enemy.
And if you find me, I'll hold my head up high, for you have lost a few rounds to me already. And I shall be glad to look into your silver eyes with my own silver ones, so you would know what I did as your shadow. What I did for love. For her – who was but a toy to you.
Now I shall toy with you and your love.