Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter 32 of 48
scarandaA tasty dinner and a nasty shock for some of the Blacks.
Reviewed'You know, Lucius, it is customary in polite society for a gentleman to make mention of his wife's name when issuing an invitation to his home,' I said, handing his third draft back to him.
'You know, Severus, this would be much easier if you were to correct the whole thing at one time, instead of piecemeal,' he snapped back as Black stuck a cigarette into his mouth and snorted in derision; I wasn't quite sure how he managed not to swallow the cigarette.
'Anyway,' Lucius went on, 'I have not announced my marriage to the world at large... just yet.'
'Were you intending to tie Narcissa up in your bedroom until the guests have left?' I asked, as Black gave another unhelpful snort at my admittedly poor choice of words.
'No,' Lucius replied, giving Black a long glance that I didn't much like the look of. 'I shall indeed announce our union, and as Lucretia's brother, I shall announce yours too... as and when I see fit... during the course of the evening.'
'And am I expected to keep my own wife under similar wraps until you tell me otherwise?' I asked somewhat waspishly. If the truth were told, I would have been only too happy to keep Lucretia away from the company of any of the men who had abused her in the past, and I had been more than a little disappointed in both Black and Lucius's, and even Ethel's, seeming nonchalance when I had mentioned that. Even Lucretia had appeared to be unconcerned.
'Leave that to us,' Black said as cryptically as one as transparent as he could possibly do. Then he drew Lucius yet another knowing look, and at last I realised that they were waiting for me to ask just what half-cocked plan they had up their sleeves. 'Wives aren't invited anyway,' he added, and I wasn't sure if that were just because he had convinced Lucius that he didn't want to come up against the redoubtable Walburga again so soon.
I listened to them explain how they intended to pull whatever rug Cygnus Black happened to be standing on, from under his feet, and then tell me how they were going to topple the rest of the Blacks and assorted hangers-on-ers on top of him, with mounting alarm.
'Enough,' I said faintly, holding my hand up. 'That is bordering on insanity.'
'Which bit?' Black asked through a cloud of noxious blue smoke.
'All of it,' I snapped.
'He just means that he wishes he had thought of it,' Lucius said knowingly, sitting back in his seat and looking rather pleased with himself.
It was then that Ethel turned from where she had been pottering about at her stove. She came to the table and laid a plate of tasty little fancies in front of Lucius, whom she seemed to have taken another shine to for some reason, before giving me one her "back down now, Severus, before it's too difficult" looks.
'How do you think you're going to carry it off anyway?' I snarled, refusing to acknowledge to myself that she had any sway over me.
Lucius gave me a pitying look, as Black grinned like the madman I had long suspected he was. 'We thought that we would let Tom Riddle into the secret... seeing as he is the only person, our own circle apart, who actually knows that you and I are now married men, Severus,' Lucius replied. 'In that way, he too can use the evening's alternative cabaret to his advantage.'
'Your advantage, you mean,' Black supplied, stubbing out his cigarette. 'You're the one who's going to be Minister of Magic.'
'Whatever,' Lucius said airily. 'Now get in touch with Riddle, Severus... we've done everything else.'
I stood up, angry with all of them, angry at the way they seemed to have deliberately underestimated the seriousness of Tom Riddle's rally, as though it were just another chance for Lucius to display his wealth for everyone else to envy, without a thought about what he was allowing himself to be used for, as though being Tom Riddle's Minister of Magic were going to be a feather in his already over-adorned cap, instead of the millstone around his neck that it would turn out to be. I didn't even bother to explain my misgivings, so sure was I that they would have been have lost on them. The only small comfort I felt about the whole business was that Riddle had intimated he wanted Black at the Ministry too; perhaps Sirius could use himself as some sort of buffer between Lucius and what Riddle's more outrageous demands were likely to be.
'I'm sorry, Lucius,' I said. 'You may use your own wife in whatever way you see fit, but you're not using mine.'
'She was my sister first,' Malfoy replied, as though that made any sense, his voice taking on what he probably fancied was a hard edge.
'It's all right, Severus,' Lucretia said, from where she and Narcissa had appeared in the doorway. 'I have agreed... with your permission, of course.'
*****
Lucius and Black were a startling counterpoint to the men who began to arrive in twos and threes for pre-dinner cocktails, all dressed in black tails, and strangling high collars, and white bow ties, and I always thought it odd that such rabidly pure-blooded men saw fit to so closely mimic the fashion of Muggle high society.
Lucius wore his customary conglomeration of silks and velvets, in pale blues and violets and greens, forsaking only the fine leather he favoured adding to the melting pot through the day, and Black took up whatever else the spectrum had to offer. Yet I have to admit that, whilst for myself I favoured traditional black wizard evening robes, at least Sirius and Lucius looked like men of magic, which was more than the rest of them did.
Riddle was last to arrive, of course, and I could see Lucius was wearying of putting on an act of welcoming the men he so loathed. I had been becoming a little concerned about just what else Lucius and Black had planned for the evening; they had seemed to have had their heads together for a suspicious part of the week before, and Black had taken the unusual step of actually leaving the manor a couple of times. We sat down to dinner, with nothing much out of the ordinary happening, and I began to relax enough to keep my attention firmly focussed on Riddle, to the extent of almost not noticing that the racks of Welsh lamb had been slightly overcooked, again, although what I recognised as Ethel's redcurrant sauce nearly made up for the fact.
The tables were set in a less formal way than the last party at Malfoy Manor, but the only change to the seating of the table Riddle was at was that Lucius sat on Riddle's left, where Abraxas had sat the last time, and Sirius sat where Lucius had sat. I could see that didn't please Cygnus, or indeed Orion, who shot his eldest son hostile looks throughout most of the meal. I noticed he had brought Regulus, as though to take up the slack where Sirius had been previously, and reminded myself to ask if he had actually been invited. I doubted that though; Lucius, Sirius and I were the only ones of our own generation there, and I suspected Orion had brought Regulus as his second of some sort, another Black to bolster their numbers. I spent the meal once again at Riddle's right hand, even less comfortable with that arrangement than I had been the last time, perhaps knowing that was because I was there of what I could only admit to myself was my own volition.
Riddle declined to make a speech after Lucius's toast to him, one which I had taken the liberty of writing for him after his own four attempts, saying that he would address his dear and faithful friends as they relaxed over Lucius's fine brandy and port. I sat back listening to the scrambling of chairs, taking the time to watch the men who had come searching for me on the night that Abraxas died in the hope of abusing me in the way in which they had abused Lucius so many times, and I found myself, whilst not quite looking forward to what Lucius had planned for that night, at least sympathising with it. I was just about to stand when Orion Black caught my eyes, and I was almost shocked at the malevolence that seemed to seep across the room to me. He looked away quickly, saying something to his younger but more favoured son, as Riddle bent to me.
'Come, my love,' Riddle purred. 'Let us have our sport now. Let Lucius repay the impertinences meted out to you and him... and, of course, your dear wife.'
*****
Riddle had lulled them into a false sense of wellbeing; perhaps in turning down the opportunity to reply to Lucius's toast he had led them to believe that any rumours that might have been flying around their inner circles about Malfoy favouritism were unfounded. He was a virtuoso of that particular game, a grand puppet master, moving his marionettes this way and that, until they were placed just so.
We had retired to the manor's formal drawing room, the one in which Lucius had received his visitors on the day that he had returned to the manor after Abraxas's death. It was an almost decadent display of ancient wealth, with its voluminous burgundy-coloured drapes, held in place by gold ropes, making their dusty drop to the floor; and its glowing old wood; and its Afghan pixie rugs, woven in patterns of dark reds and greens and blues, that seemed to shift before the eyes into patterns of women in barely concealed sexual poses; or perhaps that was just what I saw, and each man saw his own fancy.
As the talk became desultory and the men drank their fill of Lucius's cellars, Riddle stood from where he had been sitting nursing a large snifter of 1956 Cognac in his favoured seat at the fireside. I watched him nod to Lucius, who left the room, and felt my stomach flood with unpleasant warmth. I knew the ladies were with Ethel, just as I knew she would have schooled them in how to act, but I still worried for Lucretia, about how she would handle facing the beasts in that room. I watched Orion Black and Igor Karkaroff share what I suspected was a ribald comment, their features thickened and ugly with drink, and I knew then that I should never have permitted Lucius and Black to subject Lucretia to what was about to happen.
'My friends,' Riddle began. 'My most faithful and dear friends.' He paused to make sure that even those most deeply in their cups had given him their attention, and I suspected for Lucius to close the door as he slipped back into the room. 'As most of you know the position of Minister of Magic is about to become vacant, and that is just one of the reasons why the Malfoys have so graciously entertained us yet again in their magnificent home.'
One or two of them frowned at his reference to more than one Malfoy, but the moment passed as a few others tipped their glasses in Lucius's direction in some type of belated acknowledgement of his hospitality.
'It is fitting, my friends,' Riddle went on, 'that we have once again been invited here, to this most prestigious of wizarding homes, for the launching of what I know will be the spectacular career of the only man really worthy of the position.' He looked towards where Cygnus Black had begun to rise to his feet, as his own inner circle of Orion and Karkaroff and Darius Shield let one of Lucius's elves top up their glasses. 'Gentlemen,' Riddle said, content now that the pawns were placed to his satisfaction, 'let us raise our glasses to my new Minister of Magic... our new Minister of Magic.' He smiled once at Cygnus Black, and turned at last to the man who stood just inside the doorway. 'I give you Lucius Malfoy.'
There was a silence for a moment, as though the assembled Death Eaters were waiting for Riddle to complete a sentence he couldn't possibly have finished. I had to hand it to Lucius at that point; his Malfoy arrogance, and sense of self-esteem, rose to the occasion in a way which it could only have done if it were inbred.
'Thank you, Tom,' he replied grandly, surveying the stunned faces, and ignoring the muttering that had begun to rise from where Cygnus had slumped back down into his seat, his face an unwholesome milky colour, with Orion and Karkaroff whispering urgently to him.
'I have a couple of little announcements of my own,' Lucius went on.
'Have you indeed?' Orion snarled across the room to him. 'Well, I for one, don't care to listen to them.' He turned to where Riddle was watching what might as well have been a little mummery acted out for his amusement. 'Might we have a little word with you, Tom?' Orion said meaningfully. 'I fear you may have been misled about Mr Malfoy's allegiance to you. It was something Abraxas was most concerned about.'
'Really?' Riddle replied. 'Well, enlighten me here, Orion. We are after all, old friends, all of us, are we not? And what should be said to one, should be said to another... the fact that Abraxas and indeed you, Orion, had reservations about Lucius and did not bother to tell me, notwithstanding.'
'I'll tell you,' Cygnus said, rising to his feet, his face suffused with the rage of one who has been bettered by whom he sees as an inferior. He pointed first to Lucius, and then swung his arm around to encompass Black and me. 'You are surrounding yourself with fools and traitors, Tom. At least the Blacks have seen fit to purge the impurities from our family,' he said, giving Sirius a look that seemed to leave him unmoved. 'And I happen to know that it was only Abraxas's deep sense of family honour that stopped him from denouncing his own son... that... that useless dandy that you see fit to foist upon us as Minister of Magic. And as for that upstart, Snape, why, he's not even pure of blood...' He trailed off, seeming to realise his indiscretion, and what parallel he drew to Riddle himself, and settled for giving Lucius a long derisory look, as though satisfying himself of his own superiority. 'Minister of Magic indeed. Shall I tell you what his own father thought of him...?' He trailed off yet again, this time in what looked like shock, as the door opened once more.
I looked at my wife for a long moment: serene and composed, and incredibly beautiful, and I smiled to myself in some kind of self-reproach as I understood how I had underestimated those around me, before glancing across to where Black had gone to stand at Lucius's side. I gave the two of them a hard look, promising myself I would give them an equally hard time for keeping me in the dark.
Riddle had lifted his brandy glass. 'To the Malfoy family honour,' he said in a mocking toast, as a goodly few of the men present shifted uneasily at the sight of Lucretia. 'And to the honour many of the regular visitors to this manor have heaped upon the line.' He smiled over to where both Orion and Cygnus had sat back down; there was a vein throbbing in Cygnus's temple, and I hoped he wasn't about to have a seizure, we weren't quite finished yet. I could see that several of the other men were confused, men who obviously had no idea of what was going on, or indeed just who Lucretia actually was. It was Regulus Black who voiced his bewilderment first.
'Father,' he said urgently, grasping Orion's arm. 'We are not voting for the election of Lucius Malfoy surely. What of my uncle's own position?'
'Shut up, whelp,' Riddle snapped, his own veneer slipping to let the ungracious thug he truly was show through. 'We are discussing family honour at the moment, not something a brat such as you would know about.'
'What's going on here?' Shultz, an elderly American wizard spoke up, from where he had been muttering to Evan Rosier's father. 'Is there something that we should know about?'
'How can we be expected to endorse your choice of the new Minister, if we don't know what's going on?' Augustus Rookwood asked, adding his own voice to the confusion.
'Gentlemen, gentlemen, patience,' Riddle said. 'I was merely giving the Blacks, as the largest single contingent here, the opportunity to voice their approval of my choice first,' he said, as though it mattered a whit whether anyone agreed or disagreed with what Tom Riddle intended to do. 'And for the record, Cygnus, whilst we are talking about the Malfoys, perhaps it is time for you to know that Lucius, as Valerius's son, has always outranked Abraxas, and any matters of the family honour should really have been addressed to him... something, I fear, that has not always been the case.'
'Valerius?' Shultz echoed, as Cygnus seemed to draw back, as though someone had thrown a bucket of cold water at him. 'Abraxas's brother?' Schultz went on. 'He's been dead for years.'
'Indeed,' Riddle concurred. 'Twenty-nine years, I believe,' he said, turning to Lucius. 'Is that about right?'
Lucius just nodded, his eyes blazing his open hatred of Cygnus Black and his cronies, and I hoped he wasn't about to do anything stupid.
'And who is this pretty little thing anyway?' Rookwood asked, nodding across to where Lucretia took a step backwards, like a nervous fawn. 'She looks damn like a Malfoy to me.'
'Indeed,' Riddle agreed again. 'But let us not sidestep, gentlemen. May I have a show of hands for the Minister elect... just for effect?' he suggested disarmingly. 'It would not do for him to feel that his position was anything but unanimously welcomed. Why don't you start the ball rolling, so to speak, Cygnus?'
'Or why not you, Father?' Black said to Orion. 'Or perhaps I should go and have a little chat with Mother, about... things.'
'Is this really necessary?' Karkaroff asked, his voice blustering, but failing to hide his apprehension. 'If he's to be Minister, so be it, but surely we are not expected to prostrate ourselves before him.'
'What's the matter, Igor?' Schulz drawled easily. 'I've got nothing against the boy. Fine family, good bloodlines... in fact, even better if that old goblin Abraxas weren't his father,' he said, shoving his hand in the air. 'He's got my vote, Tom. In fact anyone has, as long as it isn't me,' he added with a guffaw that trailed off into an ominous sounding spluttering cough.
One by one at first, and then all of the rest of the Death Eaters' hands were raised, until only the Blacks, Karkaroff and Darius Shield were left. I could see Cygnus had been thinking about how to extricate himself from what had become a painful, and potentially very damaging, situation. He hadn't looked at Lucretia at all, not since he had first watched his own aspirations pass her in the doorway.
'The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black wishes it to be known that we shall always stand behind any Minister of Magic,' he said. 'That goes, of course, for my cousin Darius Shield, and my old friend, though not in blood, Igor Karkaroff,' he said. 'As I trust the house of Malfoy will also stand with the Blacks?' he invited, but any challenge he might have hoped for was sadly lacking.
'The Malfoys,' Lucius replied, nodding to Lucretia, 'myself, my sister, and whosoever else should complete our family, now or in the future, will always deal in the same way as that in which we are dealt, Cygnus.' He nodded to where Sirius had moved to the door. 'Perhaps, Sirius, you would be good enough to escort Lucretia to her rooms now...' He let his words trail as the murmurs rose around the room, and some of the tension dropped as many of the men present began to think they had been let off a hook of their own making.
It wasn't much later when the Death Eaters began to make their excuses, and roused themselves for their various homeward journeys. I was a bit nervous that Tom Riddle might seize upon the opportunity of being at the manor and siding so obviously with Lucius, to make some sort of attempt to stay for the night, a move that I dreaded might lead to a more permanent addition to our household. He didn't though, and I confess I was a little surprised when Schultz hauled himself to his feet.
'I don't want to drag you away, Tom, but I'm an old man now, and I can't keep up with the all-night drinking parties the way I used to,' he said. 'My wife is waiting up to greet you too, and she's not that much younger than me.'
Riddle nodded across to him, in a way that made me want to keep my eye on Morton Schultz; the two were obviously old friends. 'I was just waiting to bid the ladies goodnight, Morton,' Riddle said; then he turned to Lucius. 'They will join us again?' he asked, but I doubted if anyone noticed that he referred to more than one woman.
'Just for a moment, Tom,' Lucius replied, eyeing the Blacks, who were on their way out of the drawing room. 'They will bid our guests goodnight in the entrance hall.'
*****
Lucius's elves were scurrying about with an assortment of cloaks and hats and silk scarves and white kid evening gloves when I sensed, rather than saw, two women appear on the minstrels' gallery, at the top of the grand staircase which led to the drawing room we had just come from and the rest of the manor's upper apartments.
I was standing with Lucius and Riddle at the time, and we all turned to watch Narcissa and Lucretia come down the stairs, with Sirius Black between them.
'Ah, the delightful ladies,' Riddle said loudly, in case anyone present had missed them. He moved across the hall and held out his hand to take Lucretia's as she got to the bottom step, as I moved across with the same intention, but had to content myself to take Narcissa's instead.
'Oh no, you don't,' Cygnus Black bellowed in rage, shoving me out of the way, and grasping Narcissa's arm. 'You're coming right back home with me, you little trollop. How dare you despoil yourself with this... this upstart of a pauper,' he screamed, quite bereft of his senses. 'He might fool some, but he certainly doesn't fool me.'
'Really, Cygnus,' Lucius said, crossing the hall too, content that everyone's attention was now on the little tableau, 'control yourself, dear fellow.'
'Don't order me around where my own daughter is concerned, Malfoy. Stay out of what's none of your business,' Cygnus snarled, turning again to where Narcissa was trying to drag her arm away from her enraged father. 'There's no hope for you now, you little whore. You'll never make a decent marriage now you've ruined yourself the same way as your sister...' He trailed off, roaring in shock as Lucius's fist caught him on the corner of the mouth, drawing blood and knocking Cygnus off his feet to land in a heap of outrage at my feet.
'That was for calling my wife a whore, Cygnus,' Lucius said. 'Now you may leave our home, and never return to it until you are at least able to conduct yourself as the gentlemen you most clearly are not.'
'Wife?... Wife?' Cygnus spluttered, wiping his hand across his mouth. 'She's not your wife. I haven't consented to her marrying anyone... far less you, Malfoy.'
'Oh, dear, Severus,' Lucius said, turning to me, before looking back to where Cygnus was dragging himself to his feet, 'I knew we had forgotten something in all the excitement. Well, well, I'm sure it doesn't matter much. You were the one after all, Cygnus, who tried to foist her off onto me for so long. This way, we're all happy.' He gave Cygnus his most dazzlingly vapid smile, and took Narcissa's arm. 'Come, my dear,' he said, turning away. 'You too, Severus. I would like you and your wife, and Sirius too, to join us for a nightcap.' He began to walk away, as though his elves were quite capable of clearing the rabble from the hallowed hallway of Malfoy Manor.
As I took Lucretia's arm and led her away too I caught Riddle's eye, where he stood smiling from the open front doors, a man content with his night's work.
*****
I waited only until the library door had closed on all of us, before I spun to Lucretia.
'Do you have any idea of how hazardous cross-gender Polyjuice transformations are, Black?' I snarled.
'It was quite easy,' Black replied from Lucretia's lips. 'Anyway, we were hardly going to allow Lucretia anywhere near these men.'
This was going to be the tricky bit; I had been almost overwhelmed with relief when I had realised Lucretia was actually Black, but I had had a good hour to compose a suitable reply. 'That is not the point, Black,' I replied. 'I had my own plans for dealing with that situation,' I lied. 'And had I not realised just who you were when you came into the drawing room, I may well have gone in a direction that would have upset the whole applecart.'
'What plans?' Lucius asked, narrowing his eyes as though he didn't believe a word of my fabrication.
'I shall not overburden your already overtaxed mind, Lucius,' I replied, turning to where the bogus Sirius Black stood against the door, a perfect replica, right down to the cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth. 'And just who, in the name of all that is sacred, is this?' I asked, but I didn't really need to, of course. After all, there weren't that many men who knew Sirius Black so well that they could pass themselves off as being the real thing. 'And while we're at it,' I added, 'where is Lucretia?'
'I must say, Severus, you're being a little ungracious,' James Potter replied from Sirius's lips. 'After all the sneaking about we've done... not to mention the fact that I had to trust Sirius's Polyjuice.'
They had caught me, like a rat in a trap, and they knew it. I was only saved from having to back down by Lucretia opening the library door.
'You're not angry, Severus, are you?' she asked, as she crossed the room to me and put her tiny hand on my arm, and that made me remember just what it was all about: protecting the vulnerable, and not just the pretty and wealthy, from those who sought to harm them, but protecting them all. We had to look after not just the Lucretias and the Narcissas of this world, but the Lily Evans's and Remus Lupins too, and all of those who by accident, or poverty, or chance of birth, or indeed all three as in Lupin's case, did not fit into Tom Riddle's idealistic mould. We had to protect them from men like Tom Riddle and Cygnus Black, and all the other men who had been at the manor that night. And I reminded myself that they didn't need protection from Sirius Black, or Lucius Malfoy... or even James Potter.
'Angry?' I asked, as Ethel came in and drew close to Lucretia, as she probably had been all evening, and little Narcissa dropped back to take her other hand, and I found I had to swallow a lump of humility that rose in my throat. 'Angry?' I repeated. 'How could I be angry?'
*****
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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