XXXVI: Preparing to Fight

Chapter XXXVI: Preparing to Fight

Lucius' elf came to take away Alek's body before Morgaine had the chance to close the young man's eyes. Somehow, she was grateful. She wasn't sure if she could have handled the look in his eyes. Everything had happened so fast that Alek had not even had the time to be surprised. And so his hazel eyes still carried the same look from when he and Morgaine had started their conversation. He had been sorry, so unspeakably sorry. And Morgaine had not had the chance to tell him that the blame was not his.

'How about Aleksandra?' she asked now in a whisper, her eyes still on the spot where Alek's body had lain mere seconds ago. Aleksandra, too, had betrayed Lucius by luring him into her bed so Alek could speak to Morgaine. Had she been punished as well?

'It would be a shame to dispose of her,' Lucius said in an tone that suggested that he didn't really care about the woman's fate. 'And I might just need her a bit longer.'

'Need her?' Morgaine couldn't help but sneer. She could just about imagine what Lucius needed Aleksandra for. The mere thought made her skin crawl.

Lucius tutted and smiled sweetly. 'We wouldn't be having dirty thoughts, would we? I can get distraction of that kind from any witch I fancy. I need Aleksandra for more important things.'

'Why don't you just get it out, Lucius? You are dying to tell me your plans. And as much as I would like you to drop dead right here on the very spot where you killed Alek, I want you to tell me the truth now.'

For a moment, Lucius looked almost surprised. Then his grey eyes flashed dangerously, and Morgaine feared that she had overstepped a line. One more murder today would probably not matter to Lucius, and if he pulled his wand now, she would not have any means to defend herself. But his features softened, and his lips curled into yet another smile.

'You disappoint me, Morgaine,' he said, nodding invitingly towards the sofa. 'Shall we have a seat?'

Morgaine shook her head. She had no desire to sit comfortably beside Lucius Malfoy. He just shrugged.

'I understand your mind is full of other things,' he said in a sympathetic tone. 'But still. You have all the pieces of the puzzle right in front of your pretty nose. You, if anyone, should be able to put together the whole picture.'

Should she? Morgaine's eyes narrowed. What had she missed?

'Start with the children's lineage,' Lucius suggested. He was looking ever so kindly at her again, and his manner reminded Morgaine of a patient teacher who – for the umpteenth time – explained that two and two equalled four. 'Where do those children come from?' he helped her.

'They come from the same line.'

Lucius nodded slowly. 'Branches of one and the same tree. One healthy, almost royal. A direct descendant of the Dark Lord. The other ...' He made a dismissive gesture. 'I was not aware at the time that Aleksandra was a half-blood. The first time we met we did not exactly spend much time talking. I damned myself for not having been more careful when I learnt that I had fathered a bastard child, but when I found out just who the Riverbeds were ... Well, let us say that I quickly realised that the family had a certain potential.'

Morgaine still could not follow Lucius' logic. The Dark Lord, Tom Marvolo Riddle, had hated his Muggle father. He had hated him for his blood and blamed him for death of his mother. He had hunted him down and killed him. What use could Lucius have of a family descending from Tom Riddle senior?

'Morgaine, dearest heart,' Lucius exclaimed with a look on his face that suggested that he felt truly sorry for her now. 'Can't you see it? The blood of the Dark Lord's father runs in Melvin's veins. So does my blood. The blood of a devoted servant.'

Morgaine swallowed drily, and in the back of her mind formed a scene which she herself had never witnessed. Only Harry Potter had, and he had told Dumbledore: 'Wormtail used a spell. Bone of the father ... flesh of the servant ...'

Surely, Lucius wasn't attempting to ...

'You are catching on, I see,' Lucius interrupted Morgaine's thoughts. Obviously, her body language had betrayed her. Most certainly, her face had become pale and her eyes wide with fear and surprise.

'It is more difficult this time, of course,' Lucius continued. 'Dumbledore and Potter succeeded in destroying all the Horcruxes the Dark Lord had left behind. But I think I have something better. A living child, a vessel.'

'Why the children, Lucius?' Morgaine asked, surprised that she was able to bring forth a single sound. It felt as if a giant had put his hands around her throat and was squeezing the life out of her.

'Aleksandra is weak,' Lucius spat. 'Melvin, however ... I made sure that the boy has been given the proper education from the very start. He has the right values. He has the right goals. And he knows whom he has to thank for it.'

'You?'

Lucius nodded. 'Yes, me. The Dark Lord's most loyal servant. I shall be rewarded.'

Morgaine could see Lucius' point. Melvin was his son, and once Lucius succeeded with his plan, no one would ever need to know that the child had been conceived by accident. He would tell everyone that he had planned everything from the very start.

'Now, about you and Demeter. The girl is still young, and with the proper training, she could be great. She will be great. Because she is not only your daughter, but also the daughter of Severus Snape.'

Severus Snape, the man whom Lucius still believed had never abandoned the Dark Lord, that he had been true to the Dark cause until the very end, but smart enough to make sure to stand in a good light after his death.

'You, on the other hand, Morgaine, you are tainted.' Lucius was once more smiling at Morgaine, but there was nothing pleasant in that smile. It was cold, threatening, and there was a mad gleam in his eyes. 'I blame Dumbledore for it, of course. Had he not taken care of you and hidden you away in a godforsaken place when you were still a child, there would have been hope for you. You, too, would have been brought up with the right values and beliefs. But alas, you weren't, and you chose the wrong path. You, Morgaine, are the enemy. And I cannot allow you to cross my plans.'

~ ~ ~

When Lucius left, Morgaine finally sank onto the sofa, the seat which Lucius had offered her and which she had refused. But now her legs didn't carry her anymore. And the weight of the world seemed to be pressing down onto her shoulders.

Lucius had patently explained his master plan, and with every word, one thing had become clearer and clearer: he was mad. Barking mad. His plan was to take the children and foster them according to his beliefs and eventually use them – their blood and Morgaine's – to resurrect the Dark Lord. Just how he was planning to do this, Lucius had not unveiled, but the mad gleam in his eyes had made very sure that he wholeheartedly believed in his plan, no matter how deranged it seemed.

He would come for Demeter that very night, he had announced.

'My elf will escort you to the dining room where you and Demeter will have dinner. After that, you will both be brought back here, and I want you to make sure that the girl gets some rest before I come for her. She has a long night ahead of her.'

To Morgaine's surprise, Lucius had not forbidden her to tell Demeter about his plan. Neither had he encouraged her to. In his opinion, it did not matter. He was convinced that Demeter would do his every bidding, that she would willingly learn everything he had to teach her and accept his words as the law. In his mind, the girl was young enough to not have been blinded by the Light, and that any damage that had been done so far, could be reversed.

Morgaine thought long and hard about her options. As she understood, she wouldn't be allowed to see her daughter again until Lucius was sure that the girl had the right disposition. Only when he was convinced that he had her on her side, the Dark side, would Morgaine be allowed to see Demeter again. So if she wanted to warn her daughter, to prepare her, tonight would be her very last chance.

Morgaine's first instinct was to tell Demeter everything. That she knew how to speak to snakes because her grandfather had had that gift. That her grandfather had been Lord Voldemort, a monster that had ruthlessly eliminated everyone who had stood in his path. That Lucius was now planning to turn her and her best friend into minions and eventually use them to bring the Dark Lord back to life. But could she really tell her daughter all this? Would a girl of twelve be able to understand this craziness?

And what would Demeter do with her knowledge? Would it help her in any way? Or would it just scare her, make her fearful and uncertain and make her receptive for the speeches which Lucius most certainly had prepared very carefully? Surely, he would know exactly how to take care of a frightened little girl, convince her that he would take care of her and that everything would be just fine as long as she did as she was told. And then the trap would snap close.

No, she couldn't tell Demeter all the details, Morgaine decided. If she wanted to protect her child, she would have to appeal to the girl's talents, Gryffindor bravery and Slytherin cunning. And she herself would once more have to use the spell which she had hoped that Demeter would never need.

~ ~ ~

'Mother, you know that dream I had last night?'

Demeter nervously bit her bottom lip. They were alone in the dining room, she and her mother. Melvin had been hurried away by his own mother the moment he and Demeter had returned from their sleigh ride, and she had not seen Uncle Lucius since breakfast. But still, Demeter checked the door. She didn't want anyone to hear what she had to say. It seemed so silly, so childish. But it had occupied her mind all day, and now she needed to get it out.

Her mother folded her napkin and put it on the table. 'Yes?'

'I know this will sound silly to you, but ...' Demeter was looking for the right words. 'It feels like ... like it wasn't a dream.'

'How do you mean?' Morgaine asked, and Demeter started to relax. She had not, of course, expected her mother to laugh at her or anything, but the look on her face was encouraging. She seemed truly interested in what Demeter had to say. She even seemed a bit worried.

'You know, when you have a nightmare, you go back to sleep afterwards, and then you just remember fragments of it the next day?'

Morgaine nodded.

'Well, it wasn't like this. Ever since I woke up, there has been this feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I should be afraid of something, and ...'

'And?'

'It feels like ...' Demeter cast down her eyes, fidgeting with her napkin. 'It feels like I can't laugh anymore.'

'Does it feel like you will never be happy again?'

Demeter snapped up her head. 'This is exactly how it feels. How could you know?'

She saw her mother take a deep, shuttering breath and suddenly feared that she had annoyed her somehow, that she had said something stupid. But Morgaine's voice was calm when she spoke.

'You didn't have a nightmare last night, little one. What you felt was a Dementor.'

'A Dementor?' Demeter was puzzled. 'Those foul things that guard Azkaban prison? Why would I feel one of those?'

'They are here,' Morgaine replied. 'Some of them, at least. I was hoping they were just shadows, that my overtired mind was playing tricks on me, but I fear that they are really here. And I fear that they are here for our sake.'

'Our sake? Why? What did we do?'

'We didn't do anything, little one. We are just not allowed to leave.'

'What? What do you mean, we're not allowed to leave? Who's keeping us?'

'Can't you guess?'

Demeter was confused. Why would anyone in the house want to keep her and her mother from leaving? Who would have a reason? They were Uncle Alek's guests, and Uncle Lucius was a guest himself. Aunt Aleksandra was very kind, and Melvin was her best friend. Would anyone of them lock up her mother and herself? It didn't make any sense.

But her mother looked deadly serious. The line between her eyes was deeper than ever, and Demeter could not understand how she could have missed the dark shadows under her mother's eyes.

'You need you to listen to me now, little one, very, very carefully,' Morgaine started. 'The one who is keeping us here is Lucius Malfoy. I know you think that he is a nice man as he is treating you and Melvin to all kind of fun adventures, but let me tell you that Lucius Malfoy never does anything out of the goodness of his heart.'

Demeter was at the edge of her seat. It seemed unbelievable that Lucius Malfoy, who had taught her and Melvin to bewitch snowmen to dance and organised a sleigh ride, would be anything but nice. But why would Mother lie?

'Lucius Malfoy has been a Death Eater,' Morgaine continued. 'He claims to have been one of the Dark Lord's most loyal followers, but what he was really after was wealth, power and glory. And as long as the Dark Lord could provide him with those things, Lucius would play along. Today he is still a very rich and very powerful wizard, but ever since the Dark Lord was defeated, Lucius has been forced to keep a low profile. And now, I think, he is bored. I think, he wishes to return to the old ways.'

Demeter frowned. 'What does all of this have to do with us?' she asked and was surprised to see her mother smile.

'You're the daughter of Severus Snape. Many followers of the Dark Lord, Lucius included, still think that your father had been the Dark Lord's most loyal servant, and that he, with his dying breath, tricked Harry Potter into believing otherwise so his name would be washed clean.'

'But father would never ...'

'Of course not, little one. You and I both know that. But Lucius ... Lucius thinks otherwise. And he wants to complete the task your father – according to Lucius himself – never had a chance to start. He wants to groom you, so you can follow in his footsteps.'

'Me?' Demeter couldn't help but laugh. This was just ridiculous. Why would anyone think that she would follow an ideology whose lunatic leader had been dead for years? But her mother seemed to be very serious.

'Lucius knows you and I can speak Parseltongue, a gift which is considered to be a dark one.'

Demeter opened her mouth to protest, but her mother silenced her with a gesture of her hand.

'For Lucius, possessing a gift that is considered dark is the equivalent of being a dark witch or wizard. And so he thinks that we, you and I, could help him reach his goals, to once more obtain the power he held when he was close to the Dark Lord.'

'But we can't help him!' Demeter burst out. 'I'd never make a snake hurt someone or anything. I'd use this gift to do good. And so would you, wouldn't you? We're not dark witches!'

'No, we are not,' Morgaine replied quietly. 'But we will have to prove it. This is why I have to ask you to be careful around Lucius, little one. No matter how many marvellous things he promises you, listen to your heart first. I trust that you can make the right decision.'

Demeter felt her heart beat hard in her chest. Her mother was so serious and seemed at the same time so calm. And what she was saying almost sounded as if ...

'Mother, will you be leaving me?' Demeter asked in a fearful tone.

Morgaine shook her head. 'I am not going anywhere. But I fear Lucius will try to keep us apart. He knows I made my choice years ago and that I chose the Light. He considers me a lost cause.' She smiled sadly. 'I will do everything in my power to be close to you.'

'Is that a promise?'

'Yes, little one. It's a promise.'

~ ~ ~

Demeter refused to go to sleep after dinner, and Morgaine couldn't blame her. The girl had so many questions: about Lucius' motives, about her role in his plans and about her parents' role. But most of all, the girl was afraid. Afraid that she would be separated from her mother, afraid that she would have to stand up against Lucius alone. And as much as Morgaine tried to convince her daughter that Lucius was not about to harm her, Demeter could not be reassured.

It broke Morgaine's heart. Her little one had always been so brave. She had been the first in her class to mount her broom in flying lesson, according to Madam Hooch. She had been the first and only one of the first year Gryffindors to have the guts to crouch down at the edge of the Black Lake, extend her hand to pat the Giant Squid. And she had been the only one not to shrink back when Alek had shown his Defence class a very hairy and very vicious looking creature that had been hiding in a dark cupboard in his classroom. But now the little Gryffindor lioness was scared, and there was nothing Morgaine could do about it.

With a loud crack, Lucius' elf arrived in the room some minutes after eleven, announcing that her master would arrive shortly, and Morgaine watched her daughter furtively wipe her eyes with her sleeve. They were the last tears Demeter shed that night, and when Lucius arrived, dressed in his best robes and sporting his most charming smile, Demeter stood tall and proud, just like it suited the daughter of Severus Snape, and followed Lucius out of the room without looking back.

Morgaine, however, stared at the door a long time after Lucius had locked it from the outside. What he was planning to do with Demeter that night, she did not know. He would probably try to make her perform Dark magic as to prove that not only the Dark Lord's blood but also his spirit resided in the girl. Hopefully, Demeter would be strong enough to resist. And Morgaine hoped that she would be able to help the child.

Shortly before midnight, she knelt down before the fireplace, clasping a silver pendent in her hand: a Phoenix, holding three obsidians in its claws. Demeter had never noticed that Morgaine had unclasped the necklace the last time they had hugged.

With some difficulties, Morgaine detached the obsidians from the Phoenix's claws and put them in a line in front of the fire. The Phoenix, she clasped around her own neck, together with the Wyvern Severus had gifted her with the first night they had spent together. He had told her that it was a charm and that it would help her achieve anything she wanted. Now she hoped that he had been right.

She picked up the first obsidian and closed her fingers around it, holding it over the fire, so close that she could feel the flames lick her skin. But the pain did not matter. The spell had burnt her skin already the first time she had cast it.

'Obsidian, black as his hair, black as his eyes,

Guard her from harm, make her think twice.'

Morgaine closed her eyes and thought of Demeter, willing her to listen carefully to everything Lucius told her.

'Listen and then think, little one,' she whispered into the flames. 'Think hard and carefully.'

She dropped the obsidian into the fire and picked up the second one, holding it even closer to the flames than the first.

'Sharp as his tongue, sharp as his pain,

Keep her clear-eyed and true, not vain.'

Again, she saw her child in front of her inner eye. The girl was standing tall in front of Lucius, who was smiling ever so indulgently.

'Don't believe a word, he tells you, little one,' Morgaine warned her daughter. 'He will promise you the moon, if it suits him. But he will keep it to himself, and you will be left with nothing.'

She dropped the second obsidian into the flames, and picked up the third. But her eyes were drawn towards the two stones in the fire. And as she stared at them, lying right beside each other, a new image formed in her mind, the image of two obsidian eyes.

She inhaled sharply, but not due to the pain that shot through her as she held the black stone dangerously close to the flames. She had just realised something. She had indeed felt him last night. When she had been looking into the reflection of her own eyes in the window, she had felt him, heard him. She had thought that her over-tired mind had been playing tricks on her, that she had finally snapped, but now she understood that Severus had been looking for her, and that he had actually found her.

Would she be able to call him back? Would she be able to let him know that their child was in danger and that they needed his help?

'Hard as your courage, hard as your will,

Defend her from those who wish her ill.'

Her eyes still firmly attached to the two stones, she lowered her hand into the flames. She should pull it back, she knew that, but she didn't dare. For the sake of her child and her own, she had to try this.

'Obsidian formed in Earth's fiery core,

I ask protection for your child that I bore.'

She opened her hand and let the third obsidian fall into the fire, still staring at the first two. But they weren't stones anymore. They were his eyes. Not the eyes of the ghost, but the eyes of the man. Obsidian black, deep and bottomless as the Black Lake. And they widened in shock as he caught sight of her.

'Morgaine!'

How she had done it, Morgaine did not know. All she knew was that she, all of a sudden, was standing in the dungeons of Hogwarts, looking right up at Severus Snape. Or at least, her spirit was.

Back in Estonia, her body had collapsed in front of the dying fire.

A/N: Thanks go to Memory for the motherly advice.