Merlin, this was looking more and more like a nightmare that holds you trapped by some horribly powerful evil forces, preventing you from waking up. It gets worse and worse, with cold sweats, with tears that you feel even while asleep… And there is no one next to you to help, to hear your screams, your moan – to wake you up and hide you from the nightmare within a strong, protective embrace…
When she was a little girl, there was always Mum, who would come into the room, light a candle and sat with her until the little Lily stopped crying and went back to sleep. And while she was there, she always had lighthearted, fanciful dreams, making her want to smile and jump for joy upon waking.
There was Daddy – strong and reliable, who read to her and did magic tricks with his wand. Or simply told her stories, his very voice helping her drift off to sleep and lending protection against nightmares. For really, what monster would dare get close to a girl who is under the protection of Harry Potter himself?
There was James – her beloved clown, smiling even where there were reasons to fear. Brave, reckless, but always loyal and ready to come to her rescue – even from her own nightmares. And he would fight her imaginary foes, running them through with a twig or a toy sword, making all the attic dust rise in the air.
And there was Scorpius – this silver devil, who would have been a nightmare come true for any other girl. But for her, he was salvation from everything, even from her own self, prone as she was to being overly dramatic and emotional. He was medicine, he was a wall, he was a friend, a brother, a husband. Next to him, her nightmares were gone; for years, she had lived in the world he had conjured and kept safe for her, a magical world full of happiness and love.
And now, sitting in a dark and damp dungeon, Lily was struggling to wake up, to overcome the nightmare that struck out of the blue. But she couldn't do it, and she was growing more and more certain that this would not end with her waking up in his loving arms. And she was afraid – of the silence, of the dark, of the loneliness, of the uncertainty; afraid for Xenia, for Scorpius, for James, and for herself.
How long has it been since Xenia was led away? And where?
Too bad that the mental link was only one-directional, because Xenia at least knew that Lily was alright. The other girl did not have even that comfort. Why, oh why had she not learnt Legilemency, like Rose? Why had she thought that she didn't need it; that someone would always protect her?! Why hadn't she foresee that one day, she would be left alone with her worst nightmares?
Stupid, stupid! Weak…
Now she understood it as never before. And recalled that something like this had already happened to her in the past, when people she loved rescued her. And she did not learn anything from that! No-thing…
Rose was right: Lily always relied too much on Scorpius, while Rose vehemently rejected such dependency. Because her cousin had always been strong. And she, Lily, was weak. And worse, had never even tried to become strong, to learn from Scorpius.
Why?!
"Merlin, if I manage to get out of here, I promise…" she changed in a whisper, not sure what she was pledging, because any hope to make it out of this gloomy place was all but dead within her.
"Well, why call upon Merlin, when you can simply ask me?"
Lily started and jump from the bench where she sat since Xenia's departure. Her limbs had fallen asleep and refused to obey.
"How long have you been here?" the girl inquired, unsure where to look in the dark, and her voice momentarily broke.
"This is not the most important thing," the courtesy of her tormentor's voice frightened Lily even more; more than if he screamed and cursed like the lowest of Dark wizards.
"What is?"
"The most important question is why am I here," the voice came from the direction of the entrance bars.
"Hardly to let me out," Lily replied sarcastically, wrapping her cloak tighter around her. "How is Xenia? Where is she?"
"She was alright when I saw her last," the invisible man hemmed, as though in pleasant recollection. "I came to give you good tidings: you, too, are also about to leave this non-too-pleasant quarters."
"Pity. I have begun to enjoy them," remarked Lily, fearful of what was coming next.
"I think you will hardly miss your roommates," the man responded coolly, clearly disgruntled by his captive's tone, and wanting to intimidate her with the allusion to the Devil's Snare. "So, are you ready?"
"What if I am not?" Lily decided to fight to the end. She wouldn't let on how frightened she is.
"Well, then… That's too bad…"
She didn't have time to think, to react – a spell hit her squarely on the chest, the red flash briefly illuminating the cell. She felt the pain and that she had begun to fall. Then there was nothing…
It was akin to gliding in a boat, but with no water in sight. With nothing in sight. She heard voices, but so no one nearby, because it was dark. And then there was a soothing voice – the voice from her past, from her childhood, her mum's voice – repeating over and over the same words: "The truth is inside you". She tried to respond that she didn't know what that meant, but she couldn't get the words out. She could barely breathe.
Lily got frightened, and promptly opened her eyes. She felt as though she had nearly suffocated. She sat up and even gasped in surprise.
Yes, her kidnapper was not jesting, speaking of a change of scenery. The girl looked around the room filled with the sunlight coming through a large window. She was sat on a wide and soft four-poster bed, with curtains lifted, staring in the mirror on the wall opposite her at her own reflection. There was nothing else in the room, save a little table with a pitcher of water and a glass.
Lily jumped off the bed, alarmed at how pale and drawn her face was. How long had it been since she grabbed hold of the portkey? She brushed her hair away from her shoulders, and only then it struck her that she did not see a door. The walls were lined with silk, with no exit apparent. Even the window, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a magical replica.
It seems that she had been updated to a luxury prison suite…
And yet, there was, indeed, an exit, because a man walked in several minutes later, and Lily finally was face to face with whoever had started all this. Before her was a young man of average height and build, dark-haired and blue-eyed, which seemed somehow unnatural. He was clad in a dress robes, and his shoes were gleaming.
"Forgive me for causing you some pain," he smiled in a practised manner – like Scorpius tended to smiled at people he didn't much like – very formally. "I hope you are not cross with me?"
"Who are you?" Lily peered closely into the unfamiliar features. Why had his voice seemed familiar to her at some point?
"That is a very interesting question, Lily Malfoy," the man crossed his armed over his chest and leaned against the wall through which he had somehow entered. "And with no easy answer, to boot…"
"You are a metamorphmagus," the girl said, suddenly noticing that the stranger's eyes promptly darkened, becoming almost black.
"Hmmm… yes," the young man answered, quite proudly. "And what's the most amazing is that I was not born with the gift."
"Meaning?"
"I am the only wizard in the world who managed to become a metamorphmagus. You must know that it is an inborn ability."
Lily nodded, remembering Teddy.
"But it is impossible…"
"Anything is possibly," nearly growled the stranger, straightening up. "Do you think it was easy for me? That I dreamed of becoming like this?! Oh, no, I did it for her sake… Everything is for her sake!"
"For whose sake?" Lily asked quietly, taking two steps back.
He relaxed again, and even smiled. It seemed to Lily that her tormentor was considering something.
"Well, why don't I tell you my story…? It won't matter, anyway."
"It won't?" Lily asked, a chill running up to her spine. She no longer wanted to know any secrets.
"Oh, yes. Only where do I begin?"
"How about a name?" Lily suggested.
"Oh, my name… That is not the beginning, but rather the middle of my story."
"Then explain why you kidnapped me."
"All right… I think you have gathered, Mrs. Malfoy, that you are just a means to get to your husband."
"What has he done to you?"
"He? He was always too arrogant, too high-flying, to notice me. To him, I was but an occasional butt of a joke or a prank. I was too small for him, although I could be everything…" the man's eyes flashed maliciously. "I watched him, I observed him, I knew almost everything about him: all his deeds, all his girls, almost everything. And I feared him – and for that, hated him. I wanted to be by his side. But I was too boring, too insignificant for the great Scorpius Malfoy."
"Who are you?" Lily knew that her eyes betrayed no smaller measure of fear than that of hatred in the dark eyes of her kidnapper.
"I am a shadow, a sleeping foe, who had not sufficient strength to stop Malfoy from tormenting the girl I loved… Yes, it was love, and when he dumped her, I was there to pick up the pieces. But he would not leave her alone, and she wouldn't forget him. What was it about him that captivated her so?!" the stranger stared at Lily menacingly. "What?! He trampled upon her, and she tolerated it, hiding behind some nerdy silliness… and I found my peace with it; I had forgotten…
"And then SHE came into my life…" it seemed that, once he started talking, this metamorphmagus simply could not stop. "Beautiful, unique, intelligent, fun. Her eyes pierced my heart and healed my soul. We became friends, then fell in love. How wondrous this was: she was mine; only mine, and I was overjoyed, because this rascal Malfoy did not know of her and could not have her. We were going to get married, and that was when her second cousin, the heir to her powerful and power-thirsty uncle, died. What a dolt! He liked toying with dark magic, and the game got out of his control. Her uncle was afraid that the news got out of his son being a dark wizard. It would have tainted his growing empire; it could have taken away his power. And so, he decided to hide Marcus' death.
"Marcus?"
The kidnapper ignored her question.
"He came to me. He gave me his terms: I would be allowed to marry his first cousin once removed, an orphan and his ward, but only if I agreed to become his son; to take his son's place. And I agreed, because I would lose nothing in this bargain. I would become the heir to a great empire, a strong family. I would get power, which was something I had never had. And I would get her, Helene… I did it; I became Marcus Cartier, the eighteenth Earl of Devereaux."
"But how?"
"Quite simply. I became a metamorphmagus. For her, for the sake of being with her. It was complicated, and taxing. I haven't become a true metamorphmagus, if only in that for them, transformation is natural, easy and quick. For me, on the other hand, it is draining. Therefore, I do not always keep up the Marcus disguise. It is a good thing that we favoured each other."
"But then why…?"
"Oh, yes, Malfoy. I had been mistaken, gravely mistaken. It turned out that Helene was not mine. She never had been! Because this aristocrat had been with her, before me. She had been with him, without seeing his face, or knowing his name. Only his hair – silvery blonde. And the eyes! Those devilish eyes that were as captivating as hers! And she never forgot him. I recognized that; I saw it in her eyes; I heard it in her voice after she had taken Veritaserum…"
"But it is forbidden!"
"There is nothing forbidden for Marcus Devereaux, an advisor to the Minister," Lily's kidnapper remarked with a smirk.
"But you are not Marcus Devereaux," Lily pointed out, staring angrily at her tormentor.
"No, but it is not important, not anymore."
"Who are you?" she asked again, certain that she would not get an answer.
However, the appearance of the man before her began to quickly change, as though he was washing off face paint or taking off a wig: hair, eyes, nose, chin. Lily stared at him in horror, incredulous of what had emerged before her eyes.
"You?!"