XXXV: The Riddle

Chapter XXXV: The Riddle

Lucius Malfoy. Severus rued the day he had first met this self-satisfied megalomaniac. Well, not the very first day. After Severus had been sorted into Slytherin House and had sat down beside Lucius, the blond boy had treated him ever so nicely and had even patted him on the back in a welcoming gesture. But Lucius had only done that because he had been a prefect. It had been his duty to welcome the first-years. After that, he had ignored Severus for quite some time. A stringy, black-haired boy in second-hand robes was obviously not considered to be a Malfoy-worthy playmate. Only about half a year later, when Severus had thrown a quite advanced – and somewhat nasty – hex at Sirius Black, had Lucius understood that this boy was someone to be reckoned with. From that day on, Lucius had feigned friendship, taken young Severus under his wing, groomed him and introduced him to the right people. Six years later, it had been Lucius who had introduced Severus to the Dark Lord. It had also been him who had held Severus' left arm as he had taken the Dark Mark. And Severus had let him.

Severus had never quite severed his bonds with Lucius. For that, he owed Lucius too much. They had associated, yes, on a quite regular basis, in fact, especially after Draco had come to Hogwarts and been sorted into Severus' house. And when the Dark Lord had returned and it had become crucial that Severus maintained the illusion of being Voldemort's most loyal servant, he had had no other choice than to play Lucius' lapdog once more. Anything else would have been suspicious. But friends? No, they had never been friends.

And now, as Lucius Malfoy seemed to be very much involved in the disappearance of Morgaine and Demeter, Severus Snape had become his fiercest enemy. Of course, both Minerva and Kingsley had objected and claimed that Severus was jumping to conclusions, but Severus had refused to listen to them. For him, the case was clear and the evidence strong enough:

With the help of Kingsley Shacklebolt, some trusted members of the Ministry and some dodgy characters Kingsley knew despite him being Minister of Magic, they had found out that Lucius Malfoy and Alek Riverbed had started associating when Riverbed had still been a student at Durmstrang. 'But Lucius Malfoy associates with many people,' Kingsley had interjected. 'And from what I've heard, Riverbed has a quite pretty sister.' But Severus had only laughed. Lucius Malfoy had never seen it necessary to play nicely with family members of the women he was bedding. There was no way that he was on familiar terms with Alek Riverbed because of Riverbed's sister.

After leaving Durmstrang, Alek Riverbed had now and then been invited to Malfoy Manor. That they had found out by using Dobby, Lucius' old house-elf, and Kelly, another elf which – like Dobby – had been dismissed from the Malfoy household by accident. Apparently, Lucius had thrown a pair of slippers at the elf one morning when the poor creature had walked in on him entertaining one of his mistresses. The elf had caught the slippers, and as even shoes were counted as clothes, she had been freed and joined Dobby at Hogwarts. Her loyalties lay now with no one but herself, and she had all but too willingly given up information about her old master.

And last but not least, there had been some hushed-up transferring of gold from the well-filled Malfoy vault and to the considerably emptier Riverbed vault. That piece of information had been delivered by Bill Weasley. He was risking his job at Gringotts, but he and Morgaine had been best friends when they had been students at Hogwarts. 'And besides,' he had said, 'Morgaine has been good for George over the last year. If it hadn't been for her support ... Our family owes her.'

As usual, Lucius had covered his tracks well, but the little evidence he now had was enough for Severus. In his eyes, Alek Riverbed was either a Death Eater or at least a sympathiser, and for some reason, Lucius Malfoy had deemed it worthwhile to keep Riverbed out of Azkaban. He had hidden him, given him money and alibis, and in repayment, Riverbed had now delivered Morgaine to Lucius on a silver plate. Everything made perfect sense. Minerva and Kingsley could object all they wanted. They didn't know Lucius Malfoy as well as Severus did. And Severus knew that Lucius had been after Morgaine ever since the first time she and Severus had been invited to the famous Malfoy New Year's Ball.

Tired of listening to Minerva and Kingsley, Severus had dissolved into thin air and left the Headmistress' office, and now, in the seclusion of the dungeons, he was making plans on how he would tear both Lucius and Alek Riverbed apart limb from limb. If he ever got hold of them, that was. So far, he had still no idea where they were hiding, and with that, there was still no trace of Morgaine and Demeter. It was frustrating, infuriating, and Severus did not at all like the feeling of panic that was once more rising in his chest. He had to find them, even if it was the last thing he would do on this earth.

'Where are you?' he whispered into the darkness, for a moment almost daring to hope that he would receive an answer. But of course, Morgaine's voice did not ring out from the shadows, and his office lay as still as a tomb.

Severus closed his eyes and listened inwards. He and Morgaine had years ago overcome the need to communicate with words. When they were close to each other, they could hear each other's thoughts and whisper to each other without anyone hearing them. Maybe it would work even at a distance?

It was a long shot, Severus knew that. Even at times when their minds had been perfectly in tune, he and Morgaine had still needed eye contact to read each other's thoughts. But he had been able to sense her from a distance sometimes, like the day she had returned to Hogwarts. He had sensed her presence long before he had known that she was in the grounds.

He called for her once more, concentrating hard on the memory of her blue eyes, those eyes that their daughter had inherited.

'Where are you, Morgaine?' he asked. 'I am looking for you.'

The blue eyes seemed to look up at him, they seemed to recognise him, and Severus triumphed. But then he felt something, something that could be compared to a gust of icy wind, a wind that cut through flesh and bones and chilled the very marrow.

The look in the blue eyes changed, the wind grew colder. Severus heard a scream. And then the eyes were gone.

~ ~ ~

How could the girl sleep so soundly, Morgaine wondered as she, for the umpteenth time that night, passed by Demeter's bed to adjust the blanket. How could she dwell peacefully in the land of dreams while a storm was raging?

Morgaine herself had lain down beside her daughter a couple of times, squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on Demeter's regular breathing, but sleep had not come. And so she had risen again to pace the room, restlessly and aimlessly.

It was best for Demeter to be asleep, Morgaine thought and kissed her daughter softly on the hair. The little one had so far no idea about what was going on, and for the time being, it was just as well.

Morgaine sighed as she grabbed a blanket from the chair beside the bed and positioned herself by the window. She herself had no idea what was going on, either. All she knew was that Lucius Malfoy had succeeded in unearthing the secrets that had been kept well hidden for the better part of her life. What he intended to do with that knowledge, however, Morgaine did not know. And she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.

She looked at her reflection in the window and wrinkled her nose. No wonder Lucius kept asking her about her health. She sure looked dreadful. Her chestnut hair had lost its shine, and there were dark shadows under her eyes, telling of far too many sleepless nights. Her skin was pale and waxy, and her eyes ... oh, her eyes. Blue like Dumbledore's had been, just as kind, but in contrast to Dumbledore's, her eyes hadn't been twinkling for a long, long time.

Where are you, Morgaine?

Morgaine blinked fiercely. This couldn't be. Her overtired mind must be playing tricks on her. She had not just heard Severus' voice.

I am looking for you.

Morgaine looked up towards the black sky. Maybe she wasn't imagining things. Maybe Severus was indeed calling for her. All she had to do was to answer.

Then she saw them again, the shadows she had seen moving in the back yard earlier. They were tall, imposing, hooded, and they were drawing closer towards the manor. The candles in the room started to flicker. The air grew colder. And Demeter shot off from her pillow, screaming.

~ ~ ~

'I do hope the children are having a good time. I would very much have liked to join them.'

There was a note of actual disappointment in Lucius' voice, and the look in his eyes was almost dreamy, as if he were indeed wishing that he was riding a sleigh with Melvin and Demeter. But as well as he was playing his role and as much as Morgaine was trying to keep her calm, that last comment of his made her lose her patience with the blond wizard.

'How much longer are we supposed to play happy families?' she hissed, her voice dripping with just as much deadly poison as she had just added to the cauldron in front of her.

'Just a little while longer,' Lucius replied sweetly and continued playing with the empty phials on the table. He still seemed absent-minded, but Morgaine knew very well that he was observing her every move, just as he had been observing her during breakfast.

Not that there had been much else to look at. Upon arriving at the table, Lucius had told Melvin and Demeter that he had organised a sleigh ride for them that day, and that they would not be allowed to do any magic as the man responsible for the sleigh and horses was a Muggle from the village. All too willingly, the children had handed over their wands to Uncle Lucius and had then spent the rest of their time at the breakfast table discussing their up-coming adventure. They had chattered and laughed, and neither of them had noticed that their mothers did not share their good mood.

Aleksandra had sat silently beside Lucius, casting him an adoring smile whenever he craved it, but the glow that had lingered on her face the previous day had disappeared. And the shadows under her eyes proved that she had slept just as little as Morgaine, who had been sitting opposite Aleksandra, deeply worried about the fact that Lucius was now in possession of three wands that weren't his.

He, in opposition to the women at the table, had been joyous, telling the children how envious he was of their sleigh ride and that he wished that he could come along. 'But alas,' he had said, pouting like a little child, 'grown-ups seldom have the luxury of excursions like that. But you will tell me all about it tonight, won't you?'

'Do you think they are having fun?' Lucius asked now. 'Melvin and Demeter, I mean. It's awfully cold outside. And they will not even be able to put a Warming Charm on the sleigh.'

Morgaine put down her ladle. 'As if you really cared, Lucius.'

'I do care!' Any dreaminess and soft tone had gone from his voice, and his eyes were as cold as the weather outside as he looked at Morgaine. 'How many more times do I have to tell you that the well-being of those children matters more than anything to me?'

'Maybe, if you told me your reasons, it would sink in.'

Lucius had already opened his mouth when he thought better of it. 'Now, now, Morgaine, that was not very nice of you,' he chided her, wiggling his finger at her. 'You almost got me there.'

He smiled indulgently and winked at her before craning his neck to peer into the cauldron.

'Are you about done?' he asked. 'Is the potion warm enough to add the final ingredient?'

Morgaine nodded. Lucius refused to tell her what kind of potion she was brewing and was only giving her one instruction at a time. She had been brewing for over two hours now, and the least odd ingredients she had used were the Taipan poison and powdered Mandrake root. The recipe didn't make any sense to her, and she had no idea either what the final ingredient would be or what it would do to the potion.

Lucius beamed and produced a tiny phial from his pocket. 'The most valuable ingredient of them all. I went to quite a bit of trouble to get hold of it.'

Morgaine reached out her hand.

'Oh, no!' Lucius shook his head. 'I will add it. I wouldn't want you to waste any of it.'

He uncorked the phial, still smiling, and stepped closer. 'Most valuable,' he muttered. 'And I am not just talking about the price.'

Seven drops he added. Seven drops of what looked like molten silver.

'Lucius, my love, I am longing for you.'

Seemingly out of nowhere, Aleksandra had appeared in the door, wearing a suggestive smile and a négligée that hardly left anything to the imagination.

'We're just about finished,' Lucius replied, straightening up and greedily licking his lips as he caught sight of his mistress. 'Morgaine is tired. She wishes to return to her room.'

Why Lucius was still bothering to keep up the charade, Morgaine couldn't understand. Surely, after the events of the previous day, even he must understand that Aleksandra did not believe anymore that Morgaine was ill. Especially not as Lucius had ordered her to escort Morgaine to her room and lock her in.

Lucius' behaviour wasn't the only thing that puzzled Morgaine. Aleksandra was also acting strangely. She looked like a wanton harlot, casting Lucius' lusty looks and touching herself in the naughtiest of ways. But as soon as he looked away, she changed completely. Her features hardened, there was a calculating look in her eyes, and Morgaine couldn't stop thinking that Aleksandra was trying to tell her something.

But it was impossible for the two women to communicate. As soon as Lucius was done overseeing Morgaine bottling the potion, he was immediately all over Aleksandra, cupping her breasts through the thin fabric and placing hot kisses on her pale skin. By the time his elf had arrived to escort Morgaine back to her room, he was already unbuckling his belt. What he was doing with Aleksandra by the time the elf warded the door behind Morgaine, she did not even want to imagine.

'Aleksandra poured a potion into Lucius' tea at breakfast.'

Morgaine spun around, and out of the shadow of the curtains stepped Alek Riverbed.

'Not that he needed one,' Alek said with a sneer. 'He'd bed her even if she were smeared with dragon dung. But better safe than sorry.'

Then his face contorted in pain, and as a spasm went through his body, Alek collapsed on the nearest chair, panting. 'I need to talk to you, Morgaine.'

Morgaine was wary. From the evidence she had, Alek had lured her into a trap. It had been him who had invited her and Demeter to stay, and it was in his house they were now held prisoner. But Aleksandra had said that Alek had refused to do Lucius' bidding, and by the looks of it, Alek had been severely punished.

'Did he use the Cruciatus Curse on you?' Morgaine asked, slowly approaching Alek, who was now gripping his right leg with both his hands to keep it from twitching.

'Never mind that now,' he brought forth between gritted teeth. 'I deserved some punishment. Not for defying Lucius, but for other things.' He looked up at Morgaine. His jaws were clenched, and the apologetic look in his eyes contrasted sharply with his tormented features.

'I made some terrible mistakes, Morgaine,' he said quietly. 'No punishment I can receive will ever make up for them. But I can at least try to save you. You and our children. I tried to send off an owl to McGonagall last night, telling her how to find the manor, but Lucius intercepted the letter. That was why I didn't come down to breakfast.'

'He cursed you once more?'

Alek nodded, and Morgaine instinctively extended her hand, wanting to comfort the younger man and hopefully ease his pain. But he shrank away.

'Do not pity me, Morgaine. I do not deserve it.'

Morgaine drew up a chair and sat down beside Alek. It wasn't her time to talk now, or to ask questions. Alek had come to her room for a reason, and she would listen to him.

'What I am going to tell you now, Morgaine, those things ... ' Alek broke off again, obviously not sure about which words to choose. 'I am not telling you all this to make myself look better or to find an apology for what I have done. But you need to know those things. You need to know what you're up against.'

Morgaine nodded silently, and Alek carried on.

'You remember that our father died when Aleksandra and I were still young?'

Once more, Morgaine nodded. Alek had told her the first time they had spoken properly at Hogwarts. She had then wondered why he felt the sudden need to share the story of his life with her. Now she was all ears.

'He was murdered,' Alek explained. 'My mother was the youngest daughter of a very old and very influential Russian Wizard family. She went to study in Britain, fell in love, got married in secret and had us. When her father found out that the man she had been breeding with was a Muggle ... You can figure out the rest, can't you?'

He took a shaking breath and stretched out his leg. It had stopped twitching now.

'My mother was more or less incarcerated here, and Aleksandra and I were always told that we were scum, filthy half-bloods. Even at school, there wasn't a day when we weren't taunted. And then Lucius Malfoy came.' Alek smiled bitterly. 'When Aleksandra told me that she had been with him, I was furious at first. The man was married and my sister barely seventeen. And when she got pregnant we did everything to keep it silent. We were more than ashamed. But when Lucius made contact again, when he started to visit Aleksandra and the baby regularly, showering both with gifts ... Morgaine, you cannot believe what this meant for us. If someone like Lucius Malfoy didn't care about our blood status, then that would mean that we would be accepted by other families as well. And indeed we were. Aleksandra was invited to tea parties at the most fancy manors, and Lucius introduced me to all the right people. Suddenly, we did not have to hide anymore. And when Lucius helped me to attain a teaching job at Hogwarts, one of the best Wizarding schools in the world, we were over the moon.' He sighed. 'We didn't know then that Lucius Malfoy never did anything from the goodness of his heart. But he was nice to us for years. The first time he wanted something in return was when you returned to Hogwarts. And even that seemed harmless. He just told me that you were of an ancient line and that it would do me good to befriend you and let him know how you were doing. He seemed worried for you. And then Demeter came along, and Lucius was just as nice towards her as he was towards Melvin. I swear, Morgaine, I never suspected anything. I had no idea that he was after those two children.'

'Do you know now?' Morgaine asked eagerly. 'Do you know what he wants from them?'

'He says they are the heirs of Slytherin.'

Morgaine sneered. When Lucius had told her that twenty-four hours ago, she had not had the faintest idea what he had been talking about. Now she knew about Demeter's part in the scheme. But what about Melvin?

With some difficulties, Alek produced a piece of parchment from his pocket. 'Mother never talked about our father,' he explained. 'And I never bothered to get to know anything about him. For many years, I blamed him and his Muggle blood for all the misery in our lives. For me, he didn't exist. Lucius, however, seemed to have known for a long time, who my father was.'

He unfolded the parchment and held it up, however covering the upper left corner with his hand.

'Your family tree?' Morgaine enquired.

'Just one branch,' Alek clarified. 'My father's.'

Morgaine started at the bottom. Andrew Riverbed. Father of Alek and Aleksandra. Briefly married to Katarina Sadowski. Demised – murdered – shortly after the birth of their two children.

Tom Riverbed. Alek and Aleksandra's grandfather, son of Cecilia Riverbed. The line that connected Cecila's name with the name of her son's father was interrupted, and Alek was still covering up the name.

'Your great-grandmother, Cecilia, was she never married?'

Alek shook his head.

'And why are you covering up the name of your great-grandfather?'

Alek swallowed. 'This name didn't tell me anything at first,' he explained. 'And when Lucius explained its significance, I wished I didn't know.'

Slowly, he removed his hand from the name, and Morgaine felt all the blood leave her face.

'Tom Riddle,' she whispered. 'The Tom Riddle?'

'Yes, Morgaine,' came a drawling voice from the door. 'Tom Riddle senior.'

Everything happened incredibly fast. The same moment Morgaine realised that Lucius had appeared in the room, he was already pulling his wand. There was a flash of green light, and Alek sank to the floor.

'Stupid boy,' Lucius growled, stepping closer and looking down at Alek's body with disgust. 'He would not have had to die. I would have told you all this sooner or later myself.'

He bent down and tried to tug the piece of parchment out of Alek's hand. It tore. Alek wouldn't let go of the name Tom Riddle.

'He could have had his share of glory, our dear Alek,' Luicus announced as he straightened up. 'After all, his sister is Melvin's mother. But he chose to betray me. And betrayal, I cannot tolerate.'

'What are you planning, Lucius?' Morgaine asked, her voice shaking.

'I will tell you when it's time, my dear.' Lucius was smiling, but there was a gleam in his eyes that made a shiver go down Morgaine's spine. So did the touch of his fingers as he caressed her cheek.

'Don't you worry, Morgaine,' he whispered softly. 'Very soon, everything will be just fine.'