Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter 22 of 48
scarandaAs Abraxas is buried something nasty is dug up.
ReviewedI didn't leave the manor that night, perhaps because it would have been unrealistic to attempt to move Lucretia so quickly and with so little notice, or perhaps the real truth was that, however much I complained to myself about having Black and Lucius around, even in the short time they had been at Spinner's End, I had become used to their company. I had never had friends as such before, I suppose considering myself above all that nonsense, but I seemed to have found something in them that I valued, and I wasn't quite sure what that was. All that apart, I felt I owed myself a proper night's sleep.
The Ministry Investigators from the Sudden Death Enquiry Squad called the next day. There were two of them, one as fat and jovial as the other was thin and sour; they were unremarkable otherwise, apart from the fact that the thin one was James Potter's father. They had a few words with Lucius and then went to do whatever they were going to do with, or to, Abraxas's body. They were accompanied by one of Lucius's elves, a creature that kept casting them suspicious looks the whole way down the path, as though they were about to make off with the crypt's contents of stone biers and mouldering Malfoy bones.
When they came back to the house, they asked Lucius a few questions about his whereabouts at the time of Abraxas's death, and in view of the fact that his absence from the manor had been so avidly reported in the "Prophet", seemed content with the truth of the matter that he had been at Spinner's End. They had no interest in Black at all, seeming content to treat him as part of the furniture, and it was as though Henry Potter had never opened his home for two years to the young Sirius Black when he had fallen from his own family's grace. They asked me a little about what time I had left the manor, and where I had gone after that, and it was then that I noticed Black shoot me a warning look, but if the questions had been in any way loaded at that time, the investigators made no show of it.
Henry Potter gave Lucius a signed parchment of permission to hold Abraxas's funeral whenever he cared to do so, and apologised for not having been there sooner, and that seemed to be the end of the matter.
*****
The funeral had been tentatively arranged for the next day, and Lucius seemed to be keen to get the thing over and done with, and I don't suppose I could blame him. Lucretia had joined us upstairs for afternoon tea, and I suggested to her that I take her to my home to stay for the duration of the funeral, in case she felt uncomfortable about so many people being around.
'And with whom shall I stay, Severus?' she asked. 'I have never been completely alone in a house before. What would I eat?'
I was struck by the simplicity of her concerns, and the validity. When I began to explain to her that my aunt lived in the house, and that she would care for her, Lucretia became excited.
'I have never met another woman before,' she exclaimed. 'I think I should like that very much indeed.'
Ethel was beside herself, both at us appearing so unexpectedly quickly, and for bringing Lucretia, and it struck me that she may have been feeling a bit lonely after all of the company she had had recently. That made me wonder how she had passed all the years that she had spent alive, and how many friends had passed through her life, and I was quite sure that she would remember every last one.
"This one has a story to tell, Severus," she said to my mind as we sat down at the kitchen table, Black in his place with the ashtray, and Lucius where he always sat, and it was only when Lucretia sat down that I found I was the one displaced, the one who had to pull over another seat.
"Can you cope with her until after the funeral?" I asked Ethel back in kind, as Black stuck his cigarette in his mouth, and I only realised then that he had not smoked at the manor.
"Yes, dear," she replied. "I suspect it is as well that we are alone for a day or two."
"Ethel ..." I began, but she cut me off quickly.
"No, Severus, she is not mad," she said, reading my thoughts more quickly than I could even clarify them. "There is something strange though ... I'm not quite sure what it is yet."
The others were chatting away, unaware as always of our conversation, and I was glad that Lucius had suggested that we take Lucretia there. We didn't stay long, just long enough to check that Lucretia wasn't anxious about Lucius leaving, but she hardly seemed to even notice, finding something much more fascinating about walking in and out of Ethel's picture. That reminded me to try it for myself one day.
*****
Abraxas's funeral was as interminably boring as I had expected it to be. Once or twice I saw Lucius stifle a yawn as the self-important, the imprudent, and those who were misguided enough to seek to ingratiate themselves to him expounded his late father's worth, whatever that might have been. One thing was extremely odd though; Tom Riddle was not present, and I could not understand why that was.
The buffet had been set up in the ballroom to accommodate the crowd, and the last of the mourners, if they could be called such, were on the point of leaving when two men crossed the room to where I stood alone. I noticed one of them was Henry Potter; the other was a man I didn't know.
'Mr Snape ... Severus Snape, would you come with me please?' the other man asked.
'Why?' I asked, noticing that neither Sirius nor Lucius was anywhere nearby.
'We would like you to answer a few more questions about the evening that Abraxas Malfoy died.'
'Why?' I repeated, casting my mind around for Black.
'From now until I let you know otherwise, Mr Snape, I shall be asking the questions ... all you need to do is answer,' Potter replied. 'Now we can either talk here, or in a more private room, or ...' He left the invitation to accompany them to the Ministry unasked.
I led him along to the small sitting room off the ground floor entrance hall, to where I sensed Black was, probably having a fly cigarette because it was raining outside. I hoped he had understood the necessity to conceal himself. I closed the door of the small, seemingly empty room and turned to face my inquisitor.
'What is this about?' I asked.
'I'd like you to give us an account of your movements on the day that Abraxas Malfoy died,' Potter replied.
'From when until when?' I said in a slightly cooler tone.
'From, let us say, your arrival at Malfoy Manor, and just keep going ... I'll let you know when I get bored.'
'I spent the evening with Tom Riddle,' I said. 'Then I went home.'
Potter gave me a hard look as I tried to force my mind to work, whilst clutching my hand around the white stone in my pocket.
'Doing what, Mr Snape?' he asked, and I had a suspicion he had at least one version of events tucked neatly under his belt before he asked.
'Talking most of the time,' I replied. 'What's this all about?'
'This is all about the fact that there seems to be some discrepancy about the times of your leaving Malfoy Manor and when you were seen arriving in Spinner's End.'
'Why don't you ask Tom Riddle?' I replied. 'I'm quite sure he will vouch for my movements.'
'And we shall, Mr Snape,' Potter replied. 'Just whenever Mr Riddle returns to Britain.'
'He's not in Britain?' I asked, and something cold slid through my guts.
'Evidently you didn't talk for long enough to know his immediate plans, Mr Snape,' Potter said with satisfaction, as though he had proven some point or other.
I had sat down, not feeling the need to ask permission to do so. 'Why don't you come to the point, Mr Potter?' I said. 'I have already told you that I spent the evening with Tom Riddle. When I left here, I went home. There is nothing more.'
'Who else was in the house when you left, Mr Snape?'
'Abraxas, Orion Black, Darius Shield, and Igor Karkaroff,' I said. 'I could not attempt to name the four whores who were here with them.'
Potter's face hardened. 'Whores?' he queried. 'You didn't mention whores before now, Mr Snape. Why are you mentioning them now?'
'You didn't ask me who was here before now, Mr Potter.'
"This is a frame-up, Severus," Black snapped urgently into my mind, as though I had not already noticed the fact. Potter had turned to his side-kick, and the two of them were muttering. I wished I hadn't sat so far away from them. Black had heard them though, and I assumed he was actually standing behind them, and of course, once I assumed that, I could see him. "They're going to take you in. I'll go for Albus and see if he can pull any strings. For fuck sake don't get too complicated."
Potter had stood up, and was crossing the room to me, holding out his hand. 'May I have your wand please, Mr Snape?' he asked.
'What?' I asked in a disbelief I truly felt. 'No, no ... actually you can't have my wand. Not until you tell just what the fuck's going on.'
'Very well,' Potter said, almost apologetically, nodding to the other man, who now had an Instant Quotes Quill in his hand and was scribbling on a piece of parchment. I could see the official Ministry seal at the top of it. 'Severus Snape, you are formally under arrest for the murder of Abraxas Malfoy. Anything you say from now on will be taken down and may be used in evidence against you.' His face hardened even more. 'You wand, Mr Snape ... or do you care to be dragged out of here in chains?'
*****
Nobody wanted to know the truth, not that I told it all anyway. For four days I was alone in a holding cell on the third floor of the Ministry, and nobody was interested in anything I had to say in my defence. It was as though the scalp of any convenient Death Eater would satisfy the Ministry, and if it were one the rest of the men who had been present at the manor were content enough to point their fingers at, so much the better, so much less paperwork. I almost began to long for Riddle's return, and then I began to wonder if he would have been informed of my arrest at all, and doubted that. He had left the country, no doubt in a fit of pique at being so rudely upstaged by Lucius, probably with the intention of returning once Abraxas's funeral was over and any gossip about it had died down, and as I had no friends amongst the Death Eaters, nobody was likely to tell him the trouble I was in.
I was allowed no visitors, and had no way of knowing what, if any, story Black and Lucius were cooking up for me. And all the time the one bald fact remained: I had left Malfoy Manor shortly after midnight, and it had been almost five o'clock in the morning when we had gone back up to the warehouse to allow me to return to Spinner's End, apparently alone.
I had been stripped and searched and then permitted to dress once more in my own clothes. The only thing that had not been taken from me was the white stone, and that made me think that, as Albus had suggested when I expressed my concerns about Riddle finding it, it could not be found by others. I had tried to glean some help from it, but it seemed to have none to offer. That left me to fall back on the oldest and unlikeliest alibi of them all, that of having visited a woman, one whom I did not care to name, for the sake of her honour.
It only took Potter a couple of hours to attempt to tear that story to shreds, probably after having spoken to Orion, or one of the other men who had been at the manor.
'You must be very versatile, Mr Snape,' he said when he came back into the holding cell on the third day of my incarceration. 'Spending the whole evening in Riddle's bed, and then going to entertain a lady too ... for five hours.'
'Why are you doing this?' I asked, instead of attempting any reply. 'Why have you refused to get in touch with Tom Riddle?'
'Mr Snape, not everyone tugs their forelock to Tom Riddle,' Potter replied. 'That apart, how do you expect Mr Riddle to back up your story of a woman, if, as you maintain, you had already left Malfoy Manor ... and he had left before you?'
'And the rest of the men at the manor?' I asked, not that I hadn't asked several times before. 'Are they also under arrest yet? Or does your remit not cover the rich and powerful?'
Potter sighed. 'No, Mr Snape, they are not under arrest,' he said. 'But they all have alibis ... you, on the other hand, do not.' He had opened the door, and I could see another man out in the corridor; he held a parchment in his outstretched hand. Potter took it and read it, and turned to me with a wintry smile, one that I wasn't sure I understood. 'Your trial begins tomorrow morning at nine.'
*****
I was led into courtroom ten at the bottom of the Ministry, in chains. I had a metal collar around my neck, and it had been chained to one around my waist in a way which didn't allow me to raise my chin from where it almost touched my chest. I hated that: the illusion of shame, the thoughts that would have run through the heads of the members of the court and the onlookers, that a man who does not raise his head and look his accusers in the eye, is a guilty man.
I caught sight of Black and Lucius seated in the front row of the public gallery. Neither made any attempt to speak to me, and I began to fear the worst, and then Barty Crouch Senior began to call the court to order, and I began to panic. I could not even reach into my pocket for the white stone, secured as I was, for all the good it had done anyway, leaving me with the worst alibi in the world. I began to wonder why I had not switched from it, and just told Potter the whole story of coming home and going back up to the warehouse; on the face of it that seemed like a better bet. It was too late for that of course; I'd burnt that particular bridge early on. Then I panicked again; Black had warned me not to get too complicated, perhaps that had been his way of telling me to tell the truth about the two trips from the warehouse, and perhaps Black and Lucius had been asked by the Ministry Investigators and had given that version of the truth, the real version, and I had ruined it all by concocting some ridiculous story about a nonexistent woman.
No witnesses were called at the trial, their testimonies having been deliberated over in private and accepted by the court. Instead Crouch read out the statements from Orion Black, Darius Shield and Igor Karkaroff. No mention was made of the whores, and I knew that they had been disregarded as an attempt on my part to blacken the names of the men at the manor that night. No testimony was read out from Lucius or Sirius either, and I didn't even know if they had been asked for statements or not. I, of course, was not given any further opportunity to speak; a Silencing Charm had ensured that my last conversation with Henry Potter was the one on which I rested my defence.
Crouch conferred with the members of the bench, and I really couldn't see why he bothered; there was nothing new to talk about, but I suppose he needed something to entertain the assorted press, who had gathered like a flock of vultures. At last Crouch banged his gavel on his block, and I wondered what the slam of a door in Azkaban would sound like, and found I was almost trembling.
"Stop panicking. It's not going to happen, Severus," Black said into my mind, and I hoped he wasn't going to do anything which would result in him joining me in a cell.
'The evidence is heard, Mr Snape,' Crouch barked, snapping me out of my useless thoughts. 'It is this court's conclusion that Abraxas Malfoy died shortly before four-thirty in the morning of Thursday last, as the result of an Unforgivable Curse delivered from an unknown wand. You have maintained that you left Malfoy Manor at around midnight, and yet you were not seen returning to Spinner's End until almost five o'clock in the morning. As you do not see fit to tell this court, or the Ministry Investigators, what you did with the time between leaving Malfoy Manor until you were seen again in Spinner's End, we have reached the not unreasonable conclusion that you used that time to seclude yourself until you felt you could slip back to the manor and kill Abraxas Malfoy, and then dispose of whatever wand you used for the purpose.'
He lifted a sheaf of parchments from the desk in front of him. 'We have multiple testimonies to support the fact that you and Abraxas Malfoy had argued on several occasions, and that you resented his place in Tom Riddle's hierarchy.' He paused for a moment to sweep the court with his eyes, resting for a moment longer than I cared for on Lucius and Sirius. 'We have also been informed that you have had access to several wands over the past two weeks or so, something that further backs up our assumptions.'
He reached below his table to take a black velvet cap from where it sat on a ledge, and made a show of unfolding it, as the public galleries gasped, and Lucius and Sirius slumped back in obvious shock, and the press muttered amongst themselves, and I felt my knees almost give way. From the corner of my eye I saw Albus Dumbledore stand from where he had been sitting beside Minerva McGonagall; I had not noticed them before, but Minerva sat with her hand on her heart as Dumbledore strode across to the bench.
'Barty, Barty ... this is an outrage,' he began, but two stewards had closed in behind him, each of them taking one of his arms. 'I beg you to rethink this.'
Crouch turned to him. 'Albus, this court has made its decision. There is no appeal against facts,' he said, inclining his head to the man I knew was his friend of many years standing. 'Please return to your seat so that I can proceed.'
I watched Dumbledore turn and look once to where Black and Lucius sat in the front row, and that made me disappointed that they had left it up to an old man to make some sort of stand, however feeble it had been. Crouch watched Dumbledore walk heavily across the court, shaking off the stewards, and take his seat next to the sobbing Minerva McGonagall. Then he banged his gavel yet again to call order, and I wished he would just get on with it; there was no point in prolonging the inevitable. It was then that I realised that I could raise my head a little more, that the chain holding it in place seemed to have slackened somewhat, not much, but enough for me to properly see what was going on around me. I knew that had been Dumbledore's work, and wondered what sort of dubious mercy he had bestowed on me.
'In view of the preceding facts,' Crouch declared, 'this court has no option but to consider the act to have been a premeditated one, carefully calculated insofar as you, Severus Snape, even happened to have an unidentifiable wand on you. That said, we cannot consider that the act was a crime of any sort of passion of the moment, however heinous that would still have been. That fact limits my options further, and suggests that a custodial sentence is inappropriate.'
I had talked myself into accepting Azkaban and trying to prove my innocence from there, probably in the knowledge that Riddle would get me out somehow. He needed Aqua Vitae, and he needed me ... but none of that mattered. Crouch's black cap meant that he was about to pronounce a death sentence, and no one could help me if I were dangling at the end of a rope on Hangman's Common.
'You will be taken from this place, Severus Snape, at first light tomorrow, to a location which will not be disclosed. You will then be hanged by the neck until you are dead. May Merlin have mercy upon your soul.'
Bedlam broke out in the public galleries as people rose to their feet, some pumping their fists in the air and cheering, easily drowning out the few who called foul play.
Crouch raised his hand to restore order, and was just about to place the cap on his head to pronounce the sentence as irrevocable, when two things happened. The door to courtroom ten burst open, and Tom Riddle barged past the stewards and began to stride up the centre aisle, as different, more speculative murmurs broke out in the then subdued mayhem of the public galleries. But I wasn't looking at Riddle, I was looking to where Lucius and Black sat clearly stunned in the front row, and particularly at Lucius, who had turned to nod to someone a few rows behind him.
A young woman stood, and her voice rang out around the packed courtroom, as the scribes and cameras turned from Riddle's dramatic entrance to her.
'Stop,' Narcissa Black declared. 'I cannot allow you to forfeit your freedom, far less your life, for my honour, Severus.'
'Sit down, you foolish child,' Cygnus Black bellowed across the courtroom, as half the cameras tripods were turned yet again.
'No, Father,' Narcissa called back. 'I shall not allow this to happen.' She turned to address Barty Crouch, who favoured her with an ingratiating smile that spoke volumes for his dislike of Cygnus Black, and I almost fancied there was some sort of relief in his look too, as though he at least had some doubts, but had been overruled by those more powerful than he was. 'Severus Snape came to me on the night Abraxas Malfoy died,' Narcissa declared.
'Continue, if you will, Miss Black,' Crouch said, laying his black cap on the desk in front of him. 'Let me assure you that no one in this court will be permitted to either interrupt you ... or silence the truth,' he said, throwing a warning look at where Cygnus Black sat with Bellatrix.
'Thank you, Mr Crouch ... Your Honour,' Narcissa replied, and I noticed she avoided looking at me. 'On the night in question Severus Snape came to meet me ... we had planned a liaison. He was late for our meeting, and I had begun to worry that he would not turn up ... but he did. Horribly injured, and very late, but he came to me.'
'I see,' Crouch replied, and it was then that I stole a look at where Black and Lucius sat, and then to Dumbledore; the three of them seemed to be the only people unsurprised by Narcissa Black's outburst. 'And what were the nature of the defendant's injuries, Miss Black?' Crouch went on. 'He has not mentioned any such to the court or the Ministry's Investigators.'
'No ... no, he wouldn't,' she said, looking down demurely, and twisting a handkerchief in her tiny fingers. 'They were injuries of a nature that other men would inflict upon one they seek to humiliate in the most awful way.'
'Shut up, you meddling little bitch,' Cygnus roared, as Bellatrix stood too from beside her father, her eyes blazing hate at her sister. But Cygnus was cut off as Crouch's gavel came down on his block in three resounding cracks, and two Aurors moved to Black's side.
Narcissa looked up at Crouch again, as though in some sort of appeal that he not ask her to go into any sort of detail, and I wondered if the quite lovely rosy flush on her cheeks were embarrassment, or if she had performed some sort of feminine charm on herself; then I wondered why I was concerned about how pretty Narcissa Black looked when my life was hanging, quite literally, on the end of a rope.
Crouch had turned to where Cygnus was by then being forcibly restrained. 'Mr Black,' he said quietly in a voice that still managed to carry to the very rafters of the vaulted courtroom ceiling, and then to Cygnus, whose face was suffused with ugly red splotches of rage. 'This court will not tolerate interference of any sort ... by anyone,' he said, much less kindly than he had dealt with Dumbledore, or for that matter, Narcissa. Crouch looked to where I stood before him, still in chains, and then across to Henry Potter, who didn't look quite as disappointed as he might have, and nodded grudgingly, before he went on. 'Release the prisoner from his bonds, Henry, and take him to my chambers. This matter will be concluded in private.' Crouch rapped his gavel sharply on his block again and stood up, as the hostile murmurs rose around the court. 'This court is adjourned.'
I saw Lucius turn and give Cygnus Black an accusing look, the type of look one might give a sharp salesman who tries to palm off faulty goods as perfect; then he turned back round and sat murmuring to Sirius. The two of them looked smug enough to drink their own bathwater. It was then that I felt the white stone throb in my pocket, as though it were reminding me that it had been the one instrumental in making up the alibi I had had no trust in.
As I was led out of the court I caught sight of Riddle. He had sat at the back of the court, most likely when it looked as though Narcissa were about to steal a march on what he probably assumed was going to be his own eleventh hour bid to save my skin. He was clearly furious that once more someone else had stolen what he considered was his limelight; perhaps it was as well he didn't know it was again, however indirectly, Lucius Malfoy.
*****
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Latest 25 Reviews for You Don't Know Me
149 Reviews | 4.77/10 Average
so sorry Sirius died, also Lily and James but that was not a surprice. I hope Voldemort is dying, well written as allways
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Yes, I was sorry too.Thanks so much for your comment. It's greatly appreciated, as always.Scar
I'm glad he killed them both. I was going to jump in and do it myself if he hadn't.I'd forgotten about the Time Turner. Did Narcissa borrow it from Bellatrix, or just take it without her knwowing? Will Severus be able to use it, I wonder.I love the way you handled Severus dealing with Sirius at the end, so poignant that he ackowledged that there are different kinds of love and let Sirius go believing he loved him back. And I like the thought that Lucius is still playing his part too.A fabulous chapter. I think you're setting up a real nailbiting end.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks Steel.I know how you feel about him killing them; it was my revenge, and I admit I enjoyed writing it. Sirius's end was altogether more difficult though.As to the Time Turner, I think we can assume that Narcissa 'borrowed' it from Bellatrix without Bellatrix's knowledge.Thanks againScar
Wonderfully descriptive of the battlements. I loved the standards and the griffin banner sneering at the Dark Mark.I think I know whats wrong with Riddle but in case I'm wrong I'lll keep it to myself for now.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks for that.I'll be keeping you guessing for a short while yet.Scar
I'm reminded of Harry's walk through the woods with the ghosts of his loved ones acting as Patronuses for him. I see that you're keeping close to the body count of the canon. It makes me a little sad. Although I hated to see it, I think Bellatrix with her knife was far more in keeping with her personality in that act. There's so much just plain rage within that family that I doubt magic could have done the job.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks Rose. The body count is close; they're just different bodies to canon.As to the rage of the Blacks, it's apt you should say that at this point, but the only teaser I shall give is: you ain't seen nothing yet.Thanks so much, as always, for your wonderful support.Scar
The tension keeps rising.You're masterful at that.The book has given Severus two options though, and in the end the choice of whether to trust Schultz's words or not will have to be his.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
It's a tense time though, isn't it?Thanks for that.Scaranda
it seems Voldemort is hurt in some way. I think he did not try the avada kadavra as he think he needs Harry for the potion. So Lillys protection will result in a slow painful death I hope, and hopefully no hurcrux in this story. Now they have to get Harry, can't wait for updates.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
There's something wrong with Riddle, but Severus doesn't understand what it is yet.Thanks for dropping a comment again.Scaranda
New chapter! Happy Valentines to me! So the whole attack was a feint so Tom would have time to concentrate on his own killings. It's as if he knew what the Order's plan would be, somehow. But I just realized that I'm going to have to re-read. Did Snape find them where he told James to go? Did James not trust Snape? If not, the book was all too right.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
You writing your own Valentines (like the rest of us), Rose?Soem of the stuff you're asking was in Chapter 45 with Henry and the Morton Schultz buisness, and the rest in the current chapter (at least I sincerely hope it was).Thanks so much, Rose.Scaranda
It's all comig to a head now, and your words are just vibrating with exhilarating suspenseful tension! I can't wait for the next chapter!
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
.So pleased you're still enjoying it.Not too long to go now.Next chapter will be posted tonight.Thanks again.Scar
I love the whole idea of Sirus having an agenda.Dear old dad... checkNow we're all the way through what I've read elsewhere! Now I'm eager for what's next!
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Posting tonight, Rose.I hope you're not disappointed after a wait of... erm... quite a long time.Thanks for that.Scar
they are playing a dangerous game, one bastard less in the world, hopefully Sirius will be able to keep hidden when he has to
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
It's a dangerous time. But you're right, the world is a marginally better place with one out of the way.Thanks for that.Scar
Oh, misguided and reckless Sirius...
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
I know. He's an impulse boy, and right about now his impulse is to terminate any Black he sees. Let us see though what the future brings.Thanks for that.Scar
Oh, what a tangled web we weave... :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks for that.Scar
Aha, and for that little service, Lucius has to marry her, huh? :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Oh, I doubt Lucius will do anything he doesn't really want to do.Thanks for that.Scar
Narcissa starts to become interesting! :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Funnily enough, I completely changed how I had intended writing her.Thanks for that.Scar
And yet more surprises! :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Indeed!Thanks for that.Scar
Lucius's reaction to his father's death was perfectly played. :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks for that.Scar
Tom's madness is creeping ever closer to the surface. Love the banter between our three boys. :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
He's one scary madman, isn't he?Thanks for that.Scar
Lucius's character is developing nicely witgh his hidden secrets now coming to the fore. :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
An unplumbed depth at this point.Thanks for that.Scar
And will Dumbledore ever know the extent of the sacrifices made by Severus to retain Tom's good graces?
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
And if he does, will he care?Thanks for that.Scar
I always loved the way you write. It's as if we're standing at the shoulder of the characters, feeling everything they feel.I also love the way Tom was a little nervous as the book unfolded certain secrets before his eyes, but then he laughed it off. If he bothered to watch horror movies, he would know to be more careful.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Oh, thanks, Rose.Riddle has few moments of doubt, and I suspect he would destroy any witnesses to them. As you say, it is only when the book seems to accept him that he relaxes in belief of his omnipotence again.Thanks again.Scar
Of course the baby is a girl; it's Nymphadora! D'oh! :D
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Perhaps, but Severus doesn't know that.Thanks for that.Scaranda
Seems a pity that Severus isn't that way inclined. They'd could be good together. But friendship is just as important in fraught times. :)
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks,
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
. I normally write Severus as 'that way inclined' as you put it, but not this time. You're right though, friendship is every bit as important, often longer lasting, and vastly under-rated.Thanks again.Scar
I wonder if Riddle will allow Severus to move. I don't understand how the problem with Salazar can be solved by them moving, will Ethel take him or can she in some way hide him
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Ethel's take is to physically distance themselves from the manor, and in so doing to distance Riddle from Salazar too.Thanks so much for dropping by again.Scaranda
So little time for grief with new battles to fight, but their feelings will strengthen their resolve, I think. Getting out of Malfoy Manor is the trickiest part, and Severus has to do the hardest part.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks for that, Rose. You're right; there is no time for grief, but that doesn't make it go away.Thanks so much, as always.Scaranda
Searching here for a decent word to describe this truly wonderful but inexpressibly sad chapter. Read it three times and I can't add much to what your other reviewrs have said, except maybe a mention for Sirius too. I think in his own way he honoured Lucius by what he did, but it will damage him no doubt.I'm glad you acknowledged that Lucius and Narcissa and Severus understood it was an act of compassion, in that way you have letting us know not only what is wrong, but what is right too. I think that was very important to let us understand when there are so many other issues pending.I wish I could give you more than 5 stars for this story.
Response from scaranda (Author of You Don't Know Me)
Thanks so much for that, Steel.I'm pleased you picked up on Sirius, but at least he ensured that Riddle was thwarted in some way, although now, as you say, he has to deal with his own feelings.Thanks again for your support; I value it greatly.Scaranda