Lucas residence, Brighton
Andrea sat on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees.
She slowly rocked back and forth.
The house was starting to stink.
She'd removed the muggle's body, laughing hysterically as she burned it.
She hadn't quite worked up the courage to do the same for her mother's.
She let out a keening moan, as the memory flooded through her again.
' She was sitting in her room, reading. She hadn't decided yet, hadn't made the final decision about whether or not to end the disgusting creature who had given her life. From her parent's bedroom, she heard her mother cry out. A low sound, full of pain.
She heard the muggle's voice again, and a thwack of flesh hitting flesh.
As if in a dream, she closed her book and stood up, drawing her wand.
Her feet padded on the carpet, as she walked over. She heard the muggle again, his voice slurring as he called her mother a bitch.
And she kicked open the door, rage burning within her.
Her mother lay on the bed, clutching her eye.
The muggle stood over her, swaying gently, his fist still raised.
" Leave her alone!" She shouted shrilly.
The muggle turned his head toward her and had the audacity to smile at her.
" Andy, baby. Don't worry. I just-I'm just teaching your mom a lesson. Be a good girl, and go back to your room, ok, honey?"
She could smell the whiskey fumes from where she stood.
He turned back toward her mother, and growled something, his hand raising higher.
Her mother let out a soft sob, tears running through her hand.
"You worthless, disgusting animal. You dare to raise a hand to a witch? Fuck you! Fuck you!"
He turned back to her, confusion and anger warring on his face.
" Andrea. You don't talk to your father that way"
She rolled up her sleeve and pushed her arm forward. The Mark seemed to gleam in the low light.
" You see this, muggle? Do you even know what this means?"
He tried to focus. "You've been getting tattoos? Out with boys, getting tattoos? GO TO YOUR ROOM, MISSY! WE'LL DISCUSS THIS SOON!"
Her mother knew what it meant. She began to cry a lot harder, repeating Andrea's name over and over again.
"No, muggle," she said, her voice colder and harder than ever it had been before, "it means that you're below me. It means that I know you're below me"
Tears started running down her face.
" IT MEANS I CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT TO YOU! CRUCIO!"
She watched with savage triumph as the muggle screamed and fell to the floor. He began rolling around, and she watched, crying and laughing.
She didn't see her mother grab her wand. But she did hear her shouting out a blasting hex.
She was knocked across the room, somehow managing to keep a hold of her wand as she smashed into the wall.
She lost control of the curse, and the muggle's screams died away.
She rose from a heap on the floor where she had landed, to face her mother.
" Andrea. Andrea. You-you can't-"
" HOW CAN YOU LET HIM TREAT YOU LIKE THAT?" She shrieked.
" Expelliarmus"
She deflected her mother's spell with ease, breathing heavily.
" HOW?!"
"Andrea," her mother said gently, "he's a good man. He just-"
" He's a muggle! He dares-he dares-"
" Stupefy!"
" Protego!"
A burning fury threatened to engulf her whole. All she was doing was trying to protect her mother. And the spineless, blood-traitor bitch dared fight against her.
" Andrea. Stop. I don't know what lies they've been telling you, but-"
She didn't think. Didn't plan it.
" Avada Kedavra!"
The anger left her instantly as the green jet collided with her mother, illuminating her once-beautiful features for a moment.
Then her mother collapsed bonelessly, landing on the floor with a soft thud.
" Mummy?" She whispered fearfully, "mummy? No! I didn't want-I don't want-no! It's not meant to be like this! No! Mummy!"
Her knees gave out and she crawled over to her mother's unmoving form.
" Mummy! Mum! Please! No! I didn't want this! No!"
She threw her arms over her mother, crying hysterically.
" I didn't want this!"
" You stupid cunt!"
Her sobbing stopped abruptly. Her face twisted as she turned around.
The muggle had risen, and grabbed the cricket bat he kept next to his bed.
" I spoiled you. Shouldn't have. You dirty bitch. Not too late, though. Not too late"
She raised her wand.
" AVADA KEDAVRA!"
She shook violently, with the force of the memory.
"It wasn't meant to be like that" she muttered. "It wasn't meant to be like that. Mummy was meant to be happy. It wasn't meant to be like that. Harry said it would be good. Harry said it would be good"
She screamed.
"WHY ISNT IT GOOD?! IT WAS MEANT TO BE GOOD!"
Nott Manor
He stared into the picture. Into the smiling faces. They waved mockingly at him, full of happiness and hope.
He downed the firewhisky, not even grimacing at the burning sensation.
It didn't help. It didn't fill the gaping, biting emptiness within him.
He refilled his glass absentmindedly, and continued staring, slowly stroking the faces of his wife and son.
It was the last picture taken of the three of them together. Less than a week before he contracted the dragon pox.
Less than three weeks before Annette died.
Theo grinned widely, proudly showing off the gap where his latest tooth had fallen out.
He drank his glass.
Refilled it.
He was coming to realize that being alone wasn't the worst thing.
No. The worst thing was being alone, and knowing that you were entirely responsible for it.
If he hadn't killed that stupid mudblood, her husband would never have gone after Annette.
If he hadn't pushed Theo into his Lord's service, Theo would probably still be alive.
Hell, if he hadn't been so distant toward Theo after Annette's murder, the boy wouldn't have had such a thirst to prove himself to him. Wouldn't have been a fighter. Would have done something similar to what Lucius' kid was doing.
Not for the first time, he wished he had died alongside Annette.
The Malfoys would have gladly taken Theo in. It would have been tough for him, but he'd have had a happier childhood.
He drained his glass.
Refilled it, finally emptying the bottle.
Continued staring at the picture, face blank.
Things had been so good, back then.
He'd gotten out of the war, his prestige, freedom, and wealth intact. People had finally stopped staring and muttering when they saw him.
He and Annette had been talking about having another child.
Life had been good.
And then he'd gotten sick.
And never been truly happy again.
And then Theo had been killed. And he knew he'd never feel anything again.
He finished the glass.
He held his wand steady.
"Avada Kedavra"
He fell forward, the picture still clutched in his hand.
After a few minutes, his dead muscles released their grip.
And a breeze caught the picture, carrying it through the air.
It landed, by some chance, in the fireplace.
As Thaddeus Nott's body cooled, the last photograph of his once happy family burned.
Forest of Dean
He paced the tent, psyching himself up.
Ron and Hermione stood behind him, both quiet.
Ironically enough, some of Voldemort's new laws were making this so much easier for them. The removal of the Trace for those over the age of thirteen, for example, had been a godsend.
The prisoner groaned, moving slightly in his sleep.
He tried not to look at him. Tried not to think too much about what he about to do.
Tried not to think about his parents.
He thought about Bellatrix Lestrange. He thought about Harry Potter. Most of all, he thought about Voldemort.
Finally, he felt ready.
He nodded, and the duo behind him took a step back, one of them patting him on the back first.
He raised his wand, shaking so badly that it was barely in line with his target.
"Wake him up," he said, managing to keep his voice steady.
He heard Hermione whisper behind him.
"Enervate!"
And the prisoner's eyes opened.
He didn't look into them. Wouldn't allow himself the chance to rethink this.
' It has to be done'
"C-Cr-Crucio!"
He winced, as the bound Death Eater before him began to scream and shake.
But his fears quickly vanished, as a haze of good feeling filled him with strength, warming him up.
' I wonder if this is how Bellatrix felt?'
He couldn't keep it going any longer after that. He ended the curse and bent over, vomiting between his spread legs.
"Neville! Neville, are you all right?"
He brushed off Hermione's concerns, barely even noticing when Ron vanished his puke.
"Give it to him," he rasped, "quickly!"
Hermione hurried over to the still-shaking Death Eater and poured some of the Veritaserum into his mouth.
"Neville. You alright, mate? Seriously, I mean"
He nodded to Ron, standing up again.
"What's your name?"
The prisoner stared straight ahead, eyes blank.
"Sasha Mikhailov"
"How long have you been a Death Eater for?"
"Two and a half years"
"How long have you been in England for? Why did you come here from Russia?"
"I have been here one year. My lord desired that some of the squad leaders would come from Russia after we took the government there. He wanted us to help train the new recruits here, after our successes there"
He looked over at Ron and Hermione.
Pale-faced, they both nodded.
"Do you know what a Horcrux is?"
"No"
"Have you ever seen or heard of Voldemort taking great care of a book?"
"Yes. There were rumors. We wondered what was in it. My Lord told us not to dwell on it"
His heart sped up. "Where is it?"
"My lord hid it. In the bottommost layers of Azkaban prison"
Ron let out a soft whoop.
"Y-you're sure?"
"Yes"
"Where in Azkaban?"
"In the bottommost cells. Below where the prisoners' possessions are kept, there is a secret floor. I was one of those who accompanied my lord to Azkaban. It was a great honor"
"He told you he was hiding it there?"
"No. I was brought with to speak to some of the guards there. To give them advice on interrogation techniques. But I wished to see his greatness and watched him from a hidden crevice. I witnessed him placing a spell on the book before he went down to the bottommost levels. I grew afraid that I would be spotted when he entered the lowest floor, and I hid. When we left Azkaban, I saw no further sign of the book"
He glanced over at Ron and Hermione. Ron looked excited beyond belief. Hermione looked thoughtful.
' Already planning an Azkaban break-in' he thought, with a grin.
"Have you ever seen Voldemort with a locket? Or heard or seen anything about a locket of his?"
Eyes still blank, Sasha shook his head.
"No"
"What about a diadem?"
"I do not know what that is"
"A tiara"
"No"
"Is there anything, any object that Voldemort is obsessively careful about?"
"His wand"
"Besides that"
"No"
"What spell was it, that you saw him place on the book?"
"I do not know. My lord, in his majesty, knows more obscure magic than any other. I did not recognize the wand movements, and he spoke no incantation"
He sighed.
' Should have known it wouldn't be that easy'
"Where is he currently located?"
"The Malfoy family have the wondrous honor of hosting my lord, while his manor is rebuilt"
"Rebuilt?"
"It was destroyed when the spy blew himself up"
"The spy?"
Hermione hissed at him. "Don't get sidetracked. The Veritaserum will wear off soon!"
"The spy was a coward who-"
"Never mind" Neville interrupted. "Tell me about Voldemort's plans"
"My lord will first conquer the wizarding world. In every country we conquer, the muggle leaders are placed under the Imperius. Their weapons are disabled. Once the entire wizarding world is ours, we can begin eradicating the scum-"
"Scum?"
"Muggles. We will destroy them all, except the few we require for pets or experiments. We will rebuild the magical world, and my lord will rule for eternity. The Dark Arts will no longer be illegal. I will be a general in my lord's army, and we will crush-"
"Enough!" Hermione was breathing very quickly behind him, and he could hear her soft sobs.
"Tell me about Potter"
"Harry Potter is my lord's chosen. He is second only to my lord. His word is law unless it contradicts my lord. He-"
"Where does he live?"
"At Malfoy Manor. Or at the Greengrass' manor, with his lover"
"What does he do?"
"Whatever he wishes. He is my lord's chosen. He and his lover are above the rest of us"
"Neville. Enough, mate. I can't listen to this shit anymore"
Neville nodded slowly.
"Neville" Hermione whispered, "are you sure you-you can do this?"
He nodded again, raising his wand with tears in his eyes.
Sasha looked at him, no fear showing at the raised wand.
"A-Avada Ke-Kedavra!"
Sasha died.
Again, Neville retched.
' It has to be done' he told himself, as Ron cleaned up and Hermione whispered something comforting.
' It has to be done'
Villa Zabini
Blaise took a deep drag, relishing the cigarette's harshness against his throat.
' So weak. So fucking weak'
He sat on his bed, staring at the wall. Everything seemed dull. Colors seemed muted. Sounds seemed to come into his ears as if through water.
He ground the cigarette out against his arm, inhaling sharply at the first second of his skin's contact with the burning coal.
And color swam back into the world.
He breathed out in a sigh of relief.
When he thought about Theo too much, when he focused on the rest of his life stretching out ahead of him without Theo in it. Without his childhood best friend, his lover, and soulmate.
Everything went grey and pointless.
' What's the point? If I'm alone? There'll never be anyone like him. Never'
Blaise was not stupid. He was cognizant of the fact that it was a rather melodramatic statement to make, that most people had more than one partner throughout their lifetime.
But he and Theo had been friends since they were just out of nappies. He and Theo had grown up together. He and Theo had fit together perfectly, understanding the other's needs without needing to be told.
And he was too weak to even avenge him properly.
' Weak. Pathetic. Sickening'
"It's not fair" he muttered, reaching blindly for another cigarette.
He lit it, the smell briefly reminding him of the first one he ever had.
It had been with Theo, of course.
"It's not fair" he repeated. "We were meant to get old together. It's not fair"
The brightness started bleeding its way out of the walls again, the sunlight shining through the window suddenly seeming like nothing more than a candle.
He sighed and started pressing the cigarette against his arm, adding to the collage of burns.
His bedroom door opened, and his mother walked in.
She seemed to take in the scene at a glance, her eyes widening slightly.
Other than that and a small tremor in her hands, the tray she was holding shaking audibly, she gave no sign of shock.
"Oh, my Blaise," she said softly, putting the tray down on his chest of drawers and taking a seat next to him on the bed.
She started stroking the back of his neck, the way she would have done when he was small and fretful.
"It's not fair," he said again, aware that he was whining, and not caring in the least.
"No" she agreed gently, "it isn't. But one day, you'll find another. Not someone to replace Theo, no. You may never find the love you shared with him again. But you'll find companionship and friendship. And your love for him will stay strong. It will never weaken"
"What would you know about love?" He snarled, pulling away from her embrace and staring at her. "Have you ever loved someone for longer than was necessary to be written into their will?"
She didn't seem affronted by this. She simply continued stroking his neck, staring into space with a wistful look.
"Once" she finally said. "Once. And I've never forgotten him. And I never will"
He buried his face in her shoulder and began to cry, his body shaking with his sobs.
"It's just not fair!"
"I know dear," she said, still staring into a long gone past, "I know"
Hogwarts Dungeons
Grindelwald was silent for a short while, his eyes distant and unfocused.
Padma stood before him, her hands twirling around each other aimlessly.
"It is a result of the ritual" he finally said, "you were all virgins when it was performed. I should have taken it into account. The use of Blood Magic is only exacerbating it"
"That's what we thought, my lord," she said with a shrug.
"Don't call me that" he muttered.
His eyes sharpened and focused on her.
"It may be possible to minimize the effects"
"That's not necessary, sir. We're happy with it. We were just wondering if it was a natural thing or not"
He frowned, the shadows dancing upon his face. "It is not merely your emotions that are being twisted. Your thought processes as well, are being perverted"
"Doe-does it matter? If we're happy, does it matter if it's because of the magic twisting us?"
His face softened, and he reached a hand down, stroking her face.
"Oh, child. This should not have been your lot. I'm sorry for what I have forced you all to become"
"We told you, my l-sir. We're willing to do anything to help you beat him"
He continued stroking her, lightly brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"In times of peace, it is hard enough to find pleasure," he said slowly, "all the more so in times of war. If you are happy, then continue with my blessing"
"Thank you, sir"
"The boys finished their latest invention?"
"They were just finishing it up now. The mist one"
He smiled, pulling his hand away from her.
"Excellent. Go. Celebrate"
She smiled and walked away, murmuring her thanks.
As she walked toward her room, her footfalls sounding on the stone floor, she undid the clasp and the belt holding her robe closed around her.
She was naked underneath.
She paused just outside the door to her room. Muted grunts and moans could be heard through the stone door, accompanied by the sound of flesh hitting flesh.
' Bastards. They were meant to wait for me'
She smiled wryly. ' Although, if it was just me and one of them, we wouldn't wait either'
The sounds stopped as her hand touched the doorknob.
' They know I'm here, already. This bond, or whatever it is. It's stronger when we're closer to each other'
She pushed open the door and as she entered, let her robe fall onto the floor.
They both stared at her, George lying on his back with his legs spread wide, Fred standing at the foot of the bed, obviously having paused mid-thrust.
She looked at them for a moment, and they at her.
Thought ceased, as the mindless lust claimed her.
And there was nothing but need, and desire, and sensation.
The study, Malfoy Manor.
Lord Voldemort sat on His throne, His chin resting on one fist.
His other hand stroked a woodcut in an ancient tome.
It was quite an informative picture. It showed three people, standing back to back in a triangle, while a wizard stood a bit away from them.
' If this is what Grindelwald has done, it would explain much. It would also give him a great disadvantage. If only I could make use of it'
But Hogwarts was extremely secure, and the chances of Him managing to kidnap one of Grindelwald's three were very low.
' Unless I attack. But it is not yet time for that'
It was quite exhilarating, actually. Having an opponent as worthy as Grindelwald.
Dumbledore, galling as it was to admit, had been a brilliant wizard. But Dumbledore had been foolish, naive, and obsessed with seeing the good in everyone.
Dumbledore would never have launched an attack, merely for the chance of capturing one of His followers.
No. Grindelwald was truly worthy of being His opponent.
When the time came, Grindelwald would be rewarded with a quick death.
Grindelwald was a true threat. The three hunting His Horcruxes were nothing more than a distraction, and one that would be dealt with soon enough.
But Grindelwald. He was dangerous. He was clever, and talented, and had his fingers in all sorts of pies.
He may even have been behind the recent uprising in America.
' Possibly. An attempt to draw me out of England, or simply to weaken my power base there?'
The question remained: what to do about it?
Ordinarily, it would not have required thought. He would have gone to America and dealt with the problem Himself.
But with Grindelwald biding his time, matters became far less simple.
' If I could get his three. Or even one of them. It could certainly weaken him. Cause him to lose focus'
An idea occurred. His lips curled as He contemplated it.
' Yes. That could work. And I think Harry would rather enjoy it'
Harry was right where He wanted him. Firmly under His control, desirous of nothing other than to serve his lord and enjoy himself.
And to be with his Greengrass.
Truly, the Order of the Phoenix deserved thanks for that. No matter what, Harry would never be tempted to join their side. To join the side who had so catastrophically injured the one person he truly loved.
The child of prophecy, the one who could have been a threat, was His, as firmly as the rest of the world. Was His, and was ensuring His immortality with every Horcrux he made.
Lord Voldemort began reviewing His plan, sitting with His eyes closed and His mind whirring.
Soon, Grindelwald would be dealt a great blow. And then Hogwarts would fall.
And soon enough, after all the years and decades, the world would be His.
As it should be.